This year is a good year for holly, so make sure you beat the birds to it. The next job is to think of Christmas presents. One of the most useful things in my garden is the two wheeled wheelbarrow. This takes most of the weight onto the wheels and just leaves you with the pushing or pulling. Being balanced it means you can pull it behind you which I find easier on uneven ground. My last two presents were the useful sheets with handles at each corner. I have a very large one and a small one. Easier than filling a bucket that has to be emptied into the barrow every few minutes you can just throw things on to it and drag it to the compost heap. Garden tokens are always appreciated. I spent last Christmas’s on loads of bulbs to put in the conservatory, so am looking forward to spring.
At the beginning of October I picked a bunch of asters. The colours go together so well and I really enjoyed having them in the house. In the garden they are a bit lost, one here two there, they do not make the impact I would like. So taking advantage of a large dead shrub that had to come out I have cleared the rest of the small border and intend to fill it with asters. It already has the floppy white aster divaricartus round the edge. This is one that Gertrude Jekyll used to flop over bergenias, and to cover areas where a plant such as the oriental poppy had died back. Taking the hint I might plant poppies between the asters to give early colour. Luckily I decided to sow some last year so I have small plants ready to go. Do take note that the new name for the most common types of Michaelmas daises is now Symphyotrichum. Don’t these scientists live in the real world!
Happy Christmas, and remember the best way to get rid of that over full feeling is to get out and cut back the hellebore leaves, ready for a great display in spring. One year I was late doing it and found the voles and mice had hidden under the leaves and eaten the buds.
Stella Strachan
[Please note that this message is not posted on behalf of Bentworth Parish Council and does not necessarily reflect the Parish Council’s policy]
There are no comments yet.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.