Traditionally, Autumn begins on 21st September, but this year in the UK the average temperature over the month was only very slightly cooler than a normal August. This warmth encouraged the flowers to continue blooming, the fruit to ripen, the grass to grow, and the ‘plants-in-the-wrong-place’ to spread. This all meant there were plenty of gardening activities to keep us occupied.
Using the dry days to work in the open, Nick created a smart and useful bin-store from cladding offcuts; and Howard tackled the tool store, making it possible, for a change, to find what we wanted!
In October the results of the North West In Bloom competition were announced: we were delighted to hear that we had achieved Level 5: Outstanding once again for our entry in the It’s Your Neighbourhood section. This is a testament to the hard work and expertise of our team of volunteers all year round. We were also pleased to learn, from the judge’s written comments, that not only those physical efforts, but also our information leaflet and website, were highly commended.
During late October and early November we got on with preparations for winter, such as gathering fallen leaves for leaf-mould – and applying last year’s leaf-mould as a mulch. There was also, as ever, much to do to prepare the wildflower bed, including raking off the too-plentiful grass. Under a clear blue sky, Ros tied in the roses growing over the arch, against the likelihood of strong winds, not knowing winter would arrive within the week.
Firstly, the last stalks of the dye plants and the drift of leaves by the bench were transformed by the glitter of a hard frost.
This was followed a week later, on 29th November, by a considerable fall of snow. It draped a scarf around the carved badger on the bench…
…and made the archway appear as the entrance to an enchanted garden.
December brought stormy winds and considerably chilly days, but milder, wetter weather followed, so perhaps there won’t be a white Christmas?
However, this monochrome scene of the garden shelter in November, flanked by its guardian yew pyramids, may well feature on our Christmas card next year!
