Confessions of an delinquent gardener
I have been trying not to look at it every time I drive past. I just look the other way, pretending that all is right with the world, but yesterday I took the walk of shame through what was once a beautiful horticultural carnival of colours and textures only to find my perennial delights with their heads hanging like condemned prisoners of war being marched off to their inevitable doom. In their place weeds have sprung up everywhere like Satan’s imps, accusing me of shirking my duties. The sorry truth is that I have totally neglected my flower beds for the last few months. I’ve done nothing with them, no weeding, no cutting back, no maintenance whatsoever. I had planned to put a few more perennials in the beds and extend the length of my flowering season. The Instagram pictures of me posing in the foreground were going to be spectacular, but alas my plans did not come to fruition. While I am at it, I might as well confess that my vegetable garden is also a thundering disgrace. It’s totally overgrown and does not looking amazing. Instagram would be horrified. Maybe this is what rock bottom looks like, or perhaps there is further to fall. One way or the other, I have resolved to make amends, get down to business and actually get the jobs done.
First up are my flower beds. I need to tidy them up and weed them. I generally leave some of the flower heads as the birds like to eat them over the winter months. However there are some that have no more seeds left and they need to be cut back to the ground.
I have some Dahlias planted in the beds, I normally leave these in the ground, cover them with mulch and hope for the best. However, if you want to lift them to protect them from the frost, wait for the leaves to blacken before doing so.
A gardener is always planning for the future and with that in mind there are some bulbs that I’d like to add into the flower beds for next year. Now is a good time to plant daffodils and tulips along with bluebells for early spring colour. I particularly love to see the first of the Daffodils sprouting in March. It’s always a sign that we’re nearly over the winter months.
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I have a few shrubs that are not doing well at the moment. The soil around them isn’t the best, so I’ll top them up the soil with compost. This will help improve the quality of the soil and it will encourage the worms to get to work and do the job of moving the soil and incorporating it into the existing soil. Some of my shrubs could do with being pruned but I will leave them be for the moment. It’s too late to cut back the evergreen shrubs and a little early to cut back the deciduous ones.
As for the vegetable garden that just needs a good old fashion weeding. This year I was quite disappointed with yield of potatoes so over the next few weeks I am going to put plenty of farm yard manure on the garden in the hopes of improving the soil.
I will be hosting our 6th Annual Boutique Christmas Market again as usual on the first Sunday of December. This year it falls on the 5th December. It is my favourite event of the year and I expect this years’ market to be extra special. It will be jam packed with local based crafters, hot food, tea/coffee, tinsel, baubles and general merriment. I will keep you updated as we get closer to the season but in the meantime, save the date!
As always if you need any help with the garden, just give me a shout,
Lynda
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