Armies of Caterpillars

The tiny fairy yurt has been dismantled for the winter.

It is sad to see it missing from the corner. 

It has been a lot of fun for visitors, both young and old.

 

It was such a lovely day and it took me some time to settle to a few clearing jobs. I was so enjoying a gentle wander round.

The first thing I saw was an army of caterpillars on the nasturtiums growing in the compost.

 

I also noticed the dahlias on the compost heap are doing very well.

The sunflowers continue to be stunning.

This is the first year that I have had vases and vases of sunflowers and it`s all because I like to grow the multi-headed ones. Of course I don`t like to admit it, but I am wondering if the impromptu pruning had anything to do with their floriferousness. 

Anne came along and completed the clearing of the asparagus bed.

A good job done.

I made a start on the shrub bed......cutting back montbretia, cardoons, catmint and daisies......

..... it doesn`t look as if I have done much.

The dahlias were disbudded.

Other flowers enjoying the sunshine......

And once again there were myriads of butterflies and bees around.

Steve spotted a huge moth but we`re not sure what it was.

When it`s wings were open there were flashes of red.

No photos I`m afraid.

We all had a lettuce.

And I have to say the kohlrabi are much better eaten when young.

I suppose the same could be said about many vegetables.

This is another job for another day.....

weaving in the new willow growth.

The newest sedum plants on the cob shed survived the strong winds. 

 

Now the whole garden has to survive a week without us!

 

 

 

 

 

Rainbow Harvest

After a miserable Friday doing housework!!!!!

it was a delight to be at Freshwinds in glorious September sunshine.

And thank goodness for the yurters` sakes.

Lovely chat to a Portuguese family....we discussed dahlias, gladioli and statice.... which have the same names in both countries.

Here I am in amongst the dahlias....probably my favourite 

job at the moment.

 

Steve added more sedum plants to the edges of the cob shed roof to try and cover the black plastic.

The plants are very vigorous.

I completed the furthest hedge and was thoroughly stung by nettles for my pains. I trimmed the elder near the tortoises and cut back almost all the buddlieas.

The garden creates a great deal of waste at this time of the year.

There were masses of butterflies and bees around.

 The michaelmus daisies are starting to delight.

This season I must label every one for desirability as I shall be thinning them out.

Here is the latest toadstool table made from an old cable drum.

 

There was a heavy shower, so we stayed inside the polytunnel and had a clear-out.

A few tomatoes left....

....fantastic peppers....

...and one of the scarecrows.....the pole snapped so we 

brought her in.

The statice continues to dry.

Here is a bunch that I intend using for my flower festival posy.

The crab apples are turning a rich yellow.

The Fiesta apples are not quite ready to harvest.

 I am waiting til they come away easily with a gentle pull.

Back at home there was a very colourful harvest to sort.

Delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apple Harvest and Hedgehogs

Our plan was to go to the garden yesterday, but there was high drama in our lane.

The farmer in the field opposite our house, was mowing round the edges and snagged the telegraph pole cable. 

This took out our telephone cables....some snapped and others were sagging, but all four houses were disconnected.

We had to pull the wires higher to avoid accidents in the lane.

Exactly the same happened last year!!

Consequently four houses had to contact their four respective providers. Luckily the engineers were here very quickly, and after telling us what a mess it all was, had us reconnected by lunchtime.

We never did get to Freshwinds.

And we haven`t been today, due to the torrential rain. There is a definite feel of autumn and much too early in my opinion. 

Yesterday we did 5 hours of gardening at home.

(I slept very well.)

We have lots of new plans.

The shredder was on almost all day!!

Our rose garden is the scene of devastation.

I am trying to save some of my best roses.

This is Summer Wine.

It is being completely dug over due to an infestation of ground elder which intertwines with the roots of everything.

All my plants have been lifted, vetted for ground elder roots and potted up....hence an overflowing standing area by my greenhouse.

The ground will be left for a few months allowing the said pesky plant to show itself. Every tiny piece I have missed will turn into a plant. I won`t be putting in anything new for a while.

I pruned half of my fruit net.

These are the raspberries.

There is a lot of autumn fruit coming. I don`t know why but the fruit in autumn always tastes better.

The compost heap was overflowing.

 

We tidied a lot of the garden but we`ve left the huge sunflowers which have just seeded themselves all over. They have grown very quickly.

We picked our apples....

"Lanes Prince Albert." 

They are safely stored in our garden room....each one wrapped in newspaper.

Steve dug our last row of red potatoes.

I love the flavour.

 

Around the garden asters are looking good....

....borlotti beans are drying....

.....delphiniums are having a second flush.

We are very happy with our pumpkin crop.

Steve has been pickling red cabbage....

....I`ve been making pompom hedgehogs.

Interestingly a group of hedgehogs is called an array.

I thought Steve`s idea was better...

....a spike of hedgehogs.

 

To end the day, filling the house with flowers.

 

And just for fun another snake in the garden!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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