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.
