Descending into autumn -

I find late summer and the beginning of autumn (depending on whether your follow the meteorological or astronomical definition of the seasons) a bit of a weird time both mentally and in the garden. Everything that could have been planted out has been, the green house is pretty empty apart from a couple of trays of seed sown fresh and there really does seem to be nothing to do in the garden. Of course there is always some deadheading and tidying and the beginning of the trimming of 'the beast' as the mixed hedge out the front is known but the busy-ness of spring and early summer is a distant memory. I plant so densely that not much weeds see the light of day and those that do I can't get to anyway. All that is on my mind as I walk round the garden now is what changes I need to make for next year. That gorgeous Linaria purpurea that was so loved by the bees and occupies various parts of the garden is just to big in its current locations and I am longing to get into the beds and start shifting things about...but I can't, not just yet anyway. And it really frustrates me! This time of year feels like being in limbo. I can see so many things that need to be done, I just can't yet make a start. Mentally this is one of the hardest times. As gardening is an exercise in mindfulness for me, not being able to 'garden' is so difficult. Its a bit like winter has started early...shuddering at the thought of that.

I guess this time of year is all about reflection. There is still plenty out in the garden but its a good time to make notes on what needs divided, what needs shifted and also the plants that need to be re-homed to make way for new and exciting planting next year. My note book is already full of plans and is aided by my diary where I log what is in flower, when and for how long. I take oodles of pictures which are kept in albums by month but to be honest I still forget the small things like how the doronicum got crowded out and when everything retreats for winter, its easy to forget how much space a plant actually occupied when it was in full growth. The leucanthemum has been a good example of that, not only has it spread this year but it shot up to nearly five foot in height!

This year has been an odd one on many levels. Covid aside, the seasons have been a bit out of kilter too. We had a heatwave in April, freezing in May, humid and dull through most of the summer and it really has affected the plants. Like many others, my cosmos plants have put on masses of leaves but few flowers. The tomatoes formed only a few weeks ago and its unlikely they will ripen any time soon. The Candelabra primulas flowered into July and the lupins that put on a fantastic show last year were nonexistent this year. Anything that is susceptible to powdery mildew got it but, the humid weather made plants grow lush and tall. The geum, Mrs Bradshaw has now been flowering since early May and just put on a huge growth spurt while other plants have been a case of 'blink and you'll miss it'.

Back in the spring, on those gorgeous warm days, I realised that I didn't have nearly enough tulips to get me though that lull between the spring and early summer and I decided to up the planting for 2021. I've been scouring the bulb suppliers websites for weeks and put many bulbs in the basket....and not made a purchase. I've stocked up from Lidl and B & M stores instead and now have in the region of 200 bulbs to plant this autumn and they are the varieties or at least the colours that I was already looking at and at a fraction of the price...a win-win for me. Now I just have to plant them without digging up all of the previous planted bulbs...wish me luck!