Gardening OCD…

It’s a slow news day in my little world. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing, in some ways it’s good as there’s nothing burning inside me that has to be ranted, but in other ways it’s bad – I quite like the smell of smoke.

Increasingly though, and for no other reason than it is change around time in the garden, I find myself thinking ahead to the spring. I know, I know, we haven’t even got to winter yet, but as I mentioned I am determined to keep on top of my little gardens this year. You would think that with the sizes of my front and backyards that it would be easy to keep them in order. Well it should be, but the scale is small and therefore it needs to be even more perfect – at least in my mind and that is the problem.

I think I may be developing gardening OCD; turning into a full-blown all-year-round gardener and not the fair-weather one I have always been. I spent the weekend removing the conifer that had got too big for its boots in the backyard. I planted it twenty-five years ago as a twiglet and felt a little sad as I sawed off its thickly needled branches and dug up the sturdy stump. It had grown too big though, it was taking up space and light when both are at a premium ‘out back’ as I call it. After that was done I planted dozens of narcissus and crocus and a few alliums in the borders. They should be a picture in the New Year.

Then I swept up the needles and picked up the dead wisteria leaves that had fallen into the border by hand, despite knowing full well that it would be almost as bad tomorrow. Still, it has to be done at least every couple of days, front and back without fail if it’s dry - another definite sign of gardening OCD.

Of course I planted the pots at the front last weekend but I still managed to squeeze in some pink bellis daisies and underplant just a few more bulbs. The bellis, pansies, cyclamen, and bulbs should carry some colour through to early spring with luck - just in time for the aquilegias to flower. Of course whilst I was planting I had to remove a few almost dead leaves and ensure that the variegated sage in the basket was positioned just so.

Then it was back to the sweeping. Snails and leaves, leaves and snails - I now keep a broom and a bamboo gravel rake by the front door just in case an attack of gardening OCD emerges, a blown leaf here, a dropped fuchsia flower there. Roll on the winter, at least the leaves will stop falling.

Oh well, time to sweep the path again…

October back yard...

October’s turned up in my back yard and the pumpkin I grew in my borrowed garden (the one at my mother-in-laws) needs bringing in ready for Halloween. It’s a strange shape but I’m sure I’ll be able to do something with it – maybe a witch or a ghoul or something.

The plants have picked up a little now that it’s cooled down and the recent rain has helped. I’m determined to keep my pocket oasis tidy over the winter to avoid yet another big spring clean up next year. I may even plant some bulbs. Actually I will definitely plant some bulbs. It’ll be something to watch out for once we are through the winter. The first signs of life.

I drank a coffee out there this morning, not warm enough to sit but I can drink standing up. There was some sunshine and the air was cold, strangely damp, but crisp at the same time. I’m thinking that I’d better make the most of it as the weather is bound to take a big turn towards winter soon and that’ll be that.

Yes, I’m expecting rapid changes in my yard over the next few weeks. I wonder if I really will be bothered to keep on top of the dead plants and falling leaves. I’ll keep you posted.

Not doing my tax return…

I think I got in just before the real autumn arrived. You know the one. The one that brings scudding clouds, wet rain, chilly starts, damp mushy leaves, and condensation on the glass when you pull back the curtains in the morning. The real autumn, the one the poets don’t write about; the walking to school with a heavy heart autumn.

But enough of that, it’s been years since I walked to school.

I want to tell you about what I did on Sunday before the real autumn arrived. And what a sun day it was too. It’s hard to believe that since then it has hardly stopped raining. Still, it’s good for the garden and that is what I want to go on about today.

On Sunday I awoke knowing that I wanted to do something but not at all sure what it was. There were plenty of things I didn’t want to do – tax returns, tidying up my corner of the kitchen, putting the ironing away. But on such a lovely day it seemed wrong somehow to fritter it on things not at all frivolous, so I decided to spend Sunday avoiding doing the things I’d avoided doing the Sunday before and indulge myself a little.

Of course fun is in the eye of the beholder, and one man’s fun is another’s torment, but fun can quite often mean a spot of gardening; at least it can for me. So it was off to the nursery just off the M60 with a crumpled twenty-pound note in my hand.

In the spring I like to grow my plants from seed, but at this time of year with only a few pots to plant, I just buy some. Call me a purist but I try to avoid the Garden Centre experience with its restaurant, ornaments, furniture, and Christmas decorations, preferring a place that simply sells plants.

Three trays of yellow, purple, and cream pansies, a couple of trays of orange and mauve violas, four shades of pink cyclamen, a dwarf conifer, an ivy, and a couple of trailing variegated sages later my twenty quid had been well spent.

Back home I emptied the going-over summer bedding from my tired pots and basket and replaced the root compacted compost. I find it hard to throw plants away, so anything that might overwinter was planted in my back yard – just in case. My twenty quids worth of plants filled the basket, four good sized pots, and (because I had plants left over) four or so smaller planters. I even tucked some dwarf narcissus and crocus into the compost of each.

So that’s it. The autumn and winter planting done with even a touch of spring ready to come through in the New Year. I’m looking forward to watching them grow - all very satisfying.

I still need to do my tax return though.