Another Autumn week underway during this changed time when our properties have become our World. I have always appreciated land around me to tame and work as gardening never fails to give results, we can all tame nature in small areas or let her have her way to accommodate the creatures who need a wilderness.
Our drive way is a carpet of gold as the silver birch discard to bud up for the new and the wind is quick to deposit them where not wanted if not raked and put where you want them. Right now my last years, well broken down leaf mulch is going on our gardens to add humus, it is lighter than compost but has a good amount of decomposed matter included to keep it in place for the worms to take down into the soil. As I have already outlined recently autumn leaves are dropped by the tree to benefit it's roots but now days we tend to be too tidy in removing them all. Leaf mulch is very easy to make even in small quantities, a full black rubbish bag layered with leaves and lawn clippings watered will break down over time to a perfect organic garden mulch. I have open bins for the amount we rake which are covered with polythene once layered and watered. Also a lot of our leaves are layered with garden waste and manure to turn into compost which will heat from now on until the very cold of winter then sit and start working again when the ground warms up in Spring. So lots can be achieved while in stay at home time, weeding, trimming hedges, cutting back summer growth, mulching, raking leaves and building compost heaps..... (Whew, no pressure)
Take the time while walking around your section for exercise to look at the garden and see what plants have been flowering well over summer and which plants have not because of trees getting taller and wider and blocking light. The plants I found most suffering were dahlia's, some bushes have not flowered at all from lack of light and moisture they will be dug them up and transplanted into a sunnier spot and watered well, leaving the top growth on to die off back into the tubers. Other plants that have suffered the same are dwarf agapantha, roses, asters and dianthas, all of these need a lot of sunshine and light to preform well.
If wanting to improve the look of established gardens a front boarder will do the trick, there are so many plants multiplying around my garden like lambs ear, with it's lovely silver textured leaf that will break up and transplant easily to form a front boarder to give a garden a whole new look. Other plants that will allow you to do this are, the variegated iris, blue grass, dwarf agapantha, hosta, Helibours, purple sage, thyme, erigeron daisy, lavender and succulents. Plus heaps of other low growing evergreen plants that rooted sections can be taken from right now and potted up to create borders. Purple sage, thyme, all of these plants I have mentioned look great planted en masse in long rows to change the look of a garden.
The following annual seeds can still be sown now, aquilegia,calendula (marigold) perennial lupins, stocks, sweet peas, dianthusand are most probably now germinating around where these plants have been growing. I pot up most worthy plants that nature supplies in our garden to be planted out either before or after winter depending on the maturity of them.
Top dress lilies with blood and bone and compost, a cup full of blood and bone to each bucket of compost. If you need to shift lilies never let them dry out, get them back in the ground straight away or store them in a wet sack or towel until ready to transplant.
Veg and fruit
Pumpkins and squash should be bought in before the frosts starts, always picking them with the short length of stem attached.
Tomato's need all the daylight hours now to ripen so I have removed all shading leaves, tomato plants threatened by frost can be dug out and hung in a shed for the last of the tomatoes to ripen.
Sweet pepper plants that need more time to ripen can be dug up and put into a pot and placed under shelter to continue growing.
In cooler areas citrus trees, especially when young should given a temporary roof for frost protection put in place.
Cheers, Linda
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| Lavender boarder |
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