I realised yesterday that with everything else going on (and mostly going on away from the blog) that somehow we’d reached way into October before I’d shared my regular garden update post. So here it is, there are less photos than usual, but that’s reflecting less time in the garden for all the reasons I’ve already mentioned.
It was good to look through the photos though, as seeing that we had sun was a good reminder, and a bit of a shock after all the rain we’re starting to get used to. The lushness of this climbing plant was rewarding too, as it was one of the ones I spent time rescuing after the new neighbour got a little too over-enthusiastic trimming my plants. I was pretty certain I could rescue some, but I wasn’t sure how well they’d behave, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised.
You wouldn’t believe quite how much they’ve grown - most of the way up the fence panel. We added the plastic-coated wire fencing, which we’d brought back from the allotment, to use as a trellis. MOH wasn’t keen on the aesthetics, but actually it’s worked well and I’d consider actually buying some in the future to use instead of trellis. It’s easy to put up - we used a staple gun - and quickly it fades away, the dark colour helps.
Some pretty garden lights also make it a little more magical, though it’s been a while since we’ve sat outside. The table is still uncovered, being the optimist that I am, I’m hoping that it will be dry enough soon so that we can cover it up for the winter.
While the photo below isn’t the best, you can see just how far it’s come in a relatively short space of time.
In case you’re wondering, the brown and dead/dying plant on the far side of the trellis is the ivy that our neighbour was trying to remove, and trying to make out was ours. It isn’t. And it’s no longer there, or at least that part isn’t. They’ve done the same further down the garden and have rather cheekily, somehow heaved it over the fence, which I’m not too happy about. And while we never had The Chat before, I’m trying to resist the urge for the dead ivy to miraculously hop over the fence again. I know I should be the bigger person, but, the dead ivy hop is very tempting.
Let’s look at some pretty fairy lights instead, before we move on.
The other thing that’s odd, is these dahlias. When I bought them they were in bud and soon flowered. Then nothing. Nada. All summer. As the weather started to turn they forced a few more flowers, and then dormant again. They didn’t exactly bring colour to our patio, well apart from green, and as you know green isn’t something I’m short of.
The cyclamen and the black grass continue to be a good combination. A subtle combination, and one that’s probably not enhanced by the dried leaves, or weeds. But it’s real at least.
The gerbera has been the star this year. It’s flowered, and flowered, and flowered. Actually I probably should check on it…
And the lettuce. This is still the first sowing, I didn’t need to do a repeat sowing as we were still eating this well into the month. I suspect it’s a bit bitter now, but it was well worth growing. Much better than the plastic bags of salad from the supermarket. Though I know which lettuce I want to grow next year, I’m very much a mild lettuce kind of girl, these are mostly peppery, which MOH is a fan of.
My challenge for the weekend will be to get out into the garden and actually take some pictures so I can do an October version of this post, hopefully as late in the month as this one!
How’s your garden been?
