The seasons of the sun still linger in our autumn garden. Warm nestling echoes’ of summer time, that are occasionally met by the rattle of winter’s sabre.
Yet as we approach November after one of the mildest autumn on record, I’m torn between writing the autumn garden diary and racing up the sudden warmth of an unexpectedly sunny afternoon. Maybe like the garden I will do both!
Autumn brings the return of the grasses
September brought the dance of the pampas plumes back to the garden. White sails flirting with the changing skies in counterpoint to the garden’s design.
Suddenly the horrible job of pruning and tiding them in each spring is forgiven and forgotten, as they lend a new drama to the gardenscape.
The formal and the informal
The bronzed Miscanthus seed heads swirl around the Italian Garden once more. They create a heady juxtaposition of the formal and informal; the contemporary and the traditional.
Each year I add a flew more grasses to the borders. They compliment the wild heart of our garden that straddles the landscape between countryside and sea.
October
October saw the true autumnal brooding of the season, with fading colours and scurrying leaves.
Box blight this autumn
The box that has baked happily and healthily all of the summer, suddenly succumbed to box blight this autumn. The warm humid days offered perfect conditions for it to spread. Therefore emergency action was needed to cut the box back hard and spray with an organic feed. I use Top Buxus, an organic treatment containing copper that helps to thicken the leaves and hopefully aids resistant to attacks.
My bad! I was lulled into a false sense of security after the prolonged drought. Instead I relied on not cutting into the box plants to trim them to reduce the chances of infection! Well armed with a battery powered hedge trimmer and a huge set square I had plenty of time to reflect!
The autumn semi shade border
The sub tropical, semi shade planting between the barns reached it s zenith this October. The flamboyant dark leaved Colocasia melding with Bananas and tree ferns to form layers of colours and textures. This autumn we’ve added two more tiny tree ferns and a second banana tree from Hayle plants if you’re local for a home grown selection, and Trevenna Cross Nursery for Colocasia
November
In November, there was time to draw breath and as the days shortened and the last of the spring bulbs have been planted.
Finally the falling leaves have slowed to a trickle.
Yet there are always plans to be made for the next part of the gardens rich cycle.
The everlasting turn of the season have a natural order to them and do you know? I’m glad to be part of them and watch the garden grow these days.
