Sunday October 10, 2004

Putting the garden to bed...

Yesterday and today I have been putting the garden to rest for the winter. There is something quite satisfying doing it like finishing digging over a plot of land.

The Geraniums are now in small pots in the greenhouse, the fuscia's in similar pots but cut hard back to force them to have a rest. The other plants on the patio are also camped out in the greenhouse.All the compost from the pots is now in bags hidden behind the bar-b-q. Its ok to reuse it as long as you feed the plants in it weekly. The only plant not put away is the banana who is too big to fit in the greenhouse now. I will wait until its leaves go all brown and trim it back to just a series of stems. These I will wrap in bubble wrap or straw to protect against the worst of the frost. Before doing so I will see if I can get a small plant from the pot, there are loads of suckers I can try and prise out of it.

Of course the yearly sort out of the shed has been done and I have thrown loads of stuff out. The terracotta pots are now in there safe from the frost. Even ones advertised not to suffer from frost damage are best put away from the cold. The nectarine as predicted is now in a bag waiting to be taken to the dump. I will think of something else to put in its place.

The grapes I have not found a home for, so the blackbirds are having a feast. They seem to be concentrating on the white ones, leaving the purple for later on perhaps. Leaves are falling off the acer/wysteria and grape vigorously now. Its a daily sweep up job.