It’s a time for reflections
With the refreshing chill and evening darkness of autumn creeping in, I was uplifted to see the mellow fruitfulness of the rosy crab apples on our malus ‘Red Sentinel’, illuminated on a sunny morning. Nature had been busy creating a bounty of glistening bright berries on the pyracanthas. Cineraria ‘Silver Dust’ also still looks stunning and has brightened the shady border all summer.
The new season has breathed a different atmosphere into the garden, waking the wind chimes and rustling leaves in the cherry tree. Sedums are spreading a warm pink glow and the leaves on the forsythia, Boston ivy and Euonymus alatus are all becoming tinged with rich red.
The white birch and hydrangea still both have noticeably curled brown leaves from the summer drought, although I’m relieved to see they’re reviving with this change of season.
In contrast, the aptly named dahlia
‘Maggiore
Fire’ has thrived in all weathers and is still a real head turner!
We bought a storage container for our toys and tools. Sadly, it had to replace our largest area of potted plants, so its arrival prompted a major pot sort out. All our terracotta pots were cracked, so I emptied then reorganised all our pots, reusing terracotta pieces as crocks when replanting into the indestructible plastic ones. These are filled to the brim with bulbs, pansies and maturing cuttings of hydrangea, lavender, daphne and forsythia. I enjoyed
untangling the roots through the herb pots, tidying up and reinvigorating the mint, dill, chives, rosemary and thyme, now resettled into a large trough. Sprinkling a few herb clippings over the fire pit gave a fragrant warmth to an autumn evening outside!
I’ve been meaning to have a mirror in the garden for some time and we had fun moving one around the garden and enjoyed the new views from its reflections. Eventually, I secured it on a fence post by the patio.
I’ve also been reflecting on the gardens I’ve seen over the summer – the peace and dignity planting gave the cemetery at Oosterbeek, the wonderful allotment gardens at Lytham Hall and the ingenuity of gardens on barges.