The garden winds down for autumn

Much as I love autumn it’s a bit sad to see things dying down. The hibiscus has all but shed its leaves, the lawn is permanently wet and muddy and the last fuchsias are clinging on.

One last clematis flower is out and looking good!

A lone hydrangea flower is also trying to break through…

We’ve rescued some of the bedding plants and repotted them, and we’ve also tried taking some cuttings, although some have already died! Those that cling on we’re going to keep them under cover through the winter and hope they’ll bloom again next year. Worth a try!

We’ve planted some bulbs – narcissi in the central planter and alliums in the garden and in containers. I thought they would all lay dormant until the spring, but those in containers seem to be sprouting already. I hope that doesn’t mean they won’t grow properly and flower in the Spring.

Although we still have some spinach its not growing much now, and we’ve just harvested the last courgette!

Despite being ravaged by caterpillars from the start, we still have hopes for the broccoli – one of the plants in particular has started growing its purple heads. So now we’ve netted them against bird damage over the winter. One of the plants is very squished (I planted it too near the edge) but fingers crossed it will still come good.

And finally, chutney! I was at a poetry workshop with Jackie Wills last week and she gave me a big bag of apples. I added in a couple of apples from our communal garden (it was only their first year) and it made 12 jars of apple and chilli chutney – hurray!