For the past few weeks I’ve been getting a bit depressed about the state of my garden. The grass needed cutting again, but was still very wet. The plants in my pots were starting to look limp and frankly manky and a frost was imminent. I’d been trying to find a window of opportunity to put things right but my time had been eaten up. In addition to my weekly writing group, I’ve been attending night school with GR to learn some psychology (we still don’t understand each other) and in my wisdom I decided to learn Greek, in an attempt to preserve my aging brain. So quite a bit of homework to do. Oh, and did I mention I’m writing a second book – come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve mentioned my first book to you. They’re about my family history and the latest one is in the final stages before going to print, so it’s been quite an intensive period. Also Little Bud should be renamed Little Bug because he is picking up every bug going, now he’s at nursery school. Unfortunately his latest lurgy was particularly horrible, meaning he couldn’t go to nursery for a week – so additional days of Granny care was required.
I suffer from Raynaud’s which is a little inconvenient for a gardener in winter. I have to retreat indoors once my fingers have turned a deathly white and are devoid of any feeling. I’ve tried everything to resolve this – thermal gloves, handwarmers, mittens, fingerless mittens impregnated with silver, fingerless mittens that go up to your elbows – nothing does the job. GR has ordered me some heated gloves which will be great for winter walks, but they’ll be too cumbersome for doing gardening jobs that require dexterity.
Before the recent cold snap came (we did even have a sprinkling of snow), I lifted all my potted geraniums and a beautiful black rose aeonium and transferred them into smaller pots. They’re now all tucked up in fleece in my unheated greenhouses – hopefully some will survive. I did have some success with overwintering geraniums last year, but having gone to all this trouble, I watched Frances Tophill on the first of the Gardeners’ World Winter Specials, and I’ve done it all wrong – hey ho. I’ve bubble wrapped the pot that is home to my stunning alstroemeria spitfire. An RHS adviser tells me she would be better off planted in the ground (the plant, not the adviser), but I don’t want her in the ground, I want her in a pot, so she’s going to have to try her hardest for me. It does say on the label ‘may need some protection during hard frosts‘ so I may be lucky. My strawberry runners are also taking shelter in the greenhouses – I had a bit of trouble with some of them going mouldy last year, so I need to keep a better eye on them over this winter. I’ve sown some sweet peas too, some from seeds I’ve collected and some from a packet – they’re already sprouting but don’t look anywhere near as substantial as the ones Monty Don proudly showed us a couple of weeks ago – hopefully they’ll pick up (if you have a magnifying glass to hand you might just be able to make them out in the right hand photo below – they’re on the top shelf).
I’ve gradually been working my way through the rest of my garden to do list and I feel a bit better now. I’ve mown the lawn – hopefully the last cut of the year – that was no better an experience than the last time. I’ve pulled all the wilted annuals and vegetables out of pots and swept up leaves on the paths and patio. I don’t clear any leaves from my borders because Monty advises they will benefit wildlife, enrich the soil and provide winter shelter for creatures. It also saves a shed load of work! Next job is to do something about the algae on our paving stones which are fast becoming a slip hazard.
During one tidying up session I noticed a bit of a mess on the top of our cushion storage box – lots of strands of moss with a few tiny feathers thrown in. This was directly under my tit box and alerted me to the fact that it still hadn’t been cleared out ready for the next occupants. They had obviously become exasperated and tried to do it themselves! No sooner had I discovered this than GR was despatched up a ladder to bring the box down. Every time I see a nest I marvel at its construction and the hours of painstaking work that went into it. I hope they will take another look at this now desirable residence and give the sluttish landlady a second chance.
In the spring and summer I put quite a number of houseplants outside to enjoy a change of scene. One of these was a pathetic looking spider plant I’d almost forgotten about. Luckily I noticed her round by my greenhouses, tucked away under a honeysuckle plant, and look what I found when I picked her up – she’s had children and grandchildren – it just goes to prove a holiday in the sunshine can work miracles. She does look a bit frazzled round the edges, but wouldn’t you if you’d done all that on your own in the space of one summer!
Rambling Rose 