Readers’ gardens
A retired NHS consultant from East Lothian, learning that time, patience, wildlife and dirty hands make gardening an absolute joy.
Following a relatively mild, if stormy, autumn, the fallen foliage and the ground underfoot are soggy. There’ve still been good patches of colour, though: the last of the vivid red maple leaves; the darkest blue of salvia ‘Amistad’; a second bloom of enthusiastic pink and apricot achillea and S ineditusmprsipmecet. abile
We’ve also seen the healthiestlooking asters the garden has ever produced, yellow and burgundy leaves among the cBaeprbsuerleis-like berries of t ahnudn btieprsg oiif longflowering evening primroses. Masses of cotoneaster berries await hungry blackbirds, who’ll feast on them later this winter. I’ve planted a new iris, ‘Black Swan’, in a sunny spot where I can see when I’m at the kitchen sIrinisk s,ibaliorincag with blue in other borders. I’ve put some of a divided coppery-red heuchera beside it. Alstroemeria will grow up behind these in spring. THwydor angea p ‘Caonnicfueltatti’a will arrive soon, which will be bright, compact, scented additions to patio pots.
I scarified the lawn for the first time this autumn. Apart from moss, the grass always shows signs of where the dog likes to take her comfort breaks! There’s plenty more exercise available in cutting back various shrubs and tidying trees, then piling up the detritus to be disposed of. As I couldn’t see any flowers to come, nor much in the way of pollinators about, I decided to trim the ivy. I’ve also shifted two veronicas to other positions where they’ll be better seen – one’s tall and blue-flowering, the other more compact with lovely white blooms and variegated foliage.
The birds look as though they’re recovering from the recent storms, so giving them a bit of peace to forage and eat is my very good excuse to head indoors!