Rich red berries are in ripe abundance
Some weeks ago, I sowed red clover seed on the plot where the daffodil bulbs were lifted in late June. Red clover does well on sandy soil and is growing strongly. This green manure will be dug in over winter to improve the soil.
‘Bramley’ apples were picked before storms hit. They were ready for pulling as they parted easily from the tree, and are stored in cardboard boxes in the garage.
The cuttings of zonal pelargoniums taken in late August have rooted and are now in 7½cm pots. I took a few later cuttings last week.
Lavender does well on my light, sandy soil, so when I was cutting back the old flower stems I took a dozen cuttings from the new growth. These should root in a few weeks and give me young plants ready to go out in late spring next year. Cuttings taken from a miniature rose last August have rooted and been potted on. The tomatoes have lasted well. ‘Shirley’ gave standard red fruit and ‘Goldkrone’ gave an abundance of yellow bite-sized fruit. This is a new variety for me and I’m really pleased with it. Some autumn bulbs are providing colour in the garden. Colchicums are in flower with their pink-red blooms with a white throat. I grow them in pots so I can move them to a sheltered position when they flower.
In the cold greenhouse my vallota bulbs have produced three flowering stems, each bearing four orange-red flowers. The autumn-flowering crocus are not in bloom yet but I can see the buds appearing.
Shrubs are bearing an abundance of berries and hips this autumn. Hawthorns are laden with berries, probably due to the spell of good weather in early May when they were in blossom, while Rosa rugosa have also produced a good crop of bright red hips. These will help feed the birds this winter.