Trimming Evergreen Hedges

This week sees the children go back to school, and as I write this there's an air of 'school tummy' in our household! It's not the only feeling in the air, as when I went to work on Friday morning, there was a very autumnal chill, along with the condensation on the car windscreen, so not much to look forward to. 

I used to get a little SAD in winter, especially January, but these days it seems to start in September, so I'd better think of things to do in the garden to cheer me up.

This weekend I bought more spring bulbs, as well as Japanese onions, garlic, broad beans and shallots.  It seems only a few weeks since I lifted them from last Octobers sowing, and here we are again. So rather than view september as the end of the gardening year, I have decided to think of it as the beginning.  That makes me feel much happier (simple soul!).

I'm still harvesting carrots and spring onions from the little plot in the garden, and the herbs we've had have been in copious quantity.  I don't think we will get a squash to ripen, but the 'Mini Bell' tomatoes outside are well on their way.  The sweetcorn is plumping up nicely and as soon as the little tassels on the top turn black, I'll know they are ready to pick.

As I look around the garden, there are still loads of things in flower. Newly opened are the Sedums and Astrantia, along with the tall, stately Aconties which look really stunning at this time of the year.  The Delphiniums I cut hard back after flowering have also given us another show, and in the days of economic hardship, a great BOGOFF offer!  

Out of all the things we planted in the garden this year, the one which has impressed me the most is the Tiearella.  'Sky Rocket' was the cultivar, and it's flowered since before Chelsea week.  The plants themselves haven't grown that much in size, but I did only plant them in the ground in June, having missed that early growth spurt, but they have just flowered and flowered, even in the heavy shade of the north facing wall.

 
Tools of the week