Useful Winter Colour

Using the stems in March

November leaf colour

Naked November stems

All in the same garden but, different Dogwoods at differing stages and different colours!  All are Cornus sanguineas and those in leaf are definitely the Midwinter Fires with the odd Alba! Colour is so important at this time of year with the shorter days and the ever lowering light levels.  These stems are cut down each year in March as younger stems retain the brighter colours. The stems make very useful plant supports as they can be woven like willow stems and become available at exactly the right time of year!  The picture of me making a support was obviously taken in March.  I'm using a dustbin lid as a template for my extremely rustic looking plant support but it worked perfectly well and how much more natural than plastic?

Frosty Stripes!

Well!  After such a prolonged spell of such unseasonably warm weather, the first frost was always going to come as a bit of a shock.  After all, we've gone from working outside in short sleeves to the reality of proper November weather!  It's so unusual to be cutting lawns in November.  The drop in temperature has been dramatic and will hasten the remaining leaf fall.  Those which aren't ready to drop will colour up a lot more.  The Acer Palmatum Dissectum Seiryu still has the majority of its leaves and we're still waiting its usual really sizzling red colour change.  What's weird about these photos is seeing lawn mower stripes on a frosty November lawn!  Yep I did a high cut only 2 days earlier!  Maybe it'll stop growing now?

Eggseptionally Good Layers!

Well, the girls have eggselled (sorry!) themselves over the past few months by working really hard!  In four months, our five hens have produced the following eggs:

• July   77
• Aug   103
• Sep   116
• Oct   102

TOTAL 398

Eggsess (sorry again!) numbers are sold at the end of the road - £1 for 4 or £1.20 for a box of 6 which pays for their food.  They always sell out and our neighbour is a very keen baker and so we never have left over eggs. Of course, as the days get shorter, we know that egg production will drop.  As said in previous posts, these are five different hybrids so will lay all year round.  Their fruit supplements will reduce as windfalls are nearly all consumed now.  They will continue with their layers mash and mealworms as well as layers pellets and, being the world's most spoilt birds, they do have Dodson and Horrell's best! For our foreign followers: Dodson and Horrell hold a royal warrant as they supply HM Queen! With so few birds to feed it's a case of 'because they're worth it!'

Blowing before Mowing!!

This unseasonably warm weather has meant that not only are there  leaves to hoover up but that the grass is still growing - fast!!  I don't remember grass cutting being such a necessity at this time of year before.  The real pain is finding the time to do it when it's not sopping wet with dew.  I even resorted to going over the top lawn with the blower first, just to dry it!   I must say that it worked rather well and meant that wet grass didn't block the mower by sticking to everything. The lower lawn and orchard just seems a little too big for that!  Our lawns are that awkward in-between size - a little too small for the ride-on and a little too big for the walk-behind!  I have been using the ride-on on its highest setting for hoovering up the leaves - especially the tulip tree leaves which are the size of small cushion covers and it only takes a few to completely blanket the lawn obscuring all light.

I think my new tip is definitely run over wet grass with a blower if you're desperate to mow.  A case of blow then mow!

Evie's Big Studio Clean-Up

I promised Evie I'd do a post on her great efforts cleaning and tidying the studio, so here we are: photographic evidence! Note that not a single fly or spider - dead or alive remain in any of the old bottles!  She was a real star so - thanks Evie for all your help with the big autumn clean up. If the shed of the year entries were judged on cleanliness, the Studio would have won hands down!  More photos

Loadsa Leaves = Copious Compost

Yesterday morning was spent hoovering up  vast numbers of leaves and piling them on the compost heap.  Today, it was as if nothing had been done!   All this unseasonably warm weather means that the grass is still growing!!  Yes; that means mowing in November!!  Nothing  This is where they all end up here - 

Leaf mould ingredients

Fallen fig leaves

Yet more fig leaves!

The fig is dropping its very large leaves quite fast now and, along with all the other leaves, are finding their way to the compost heap for future use.  Funny how some leaves go such beautiful colours and other such as the pear leaves just go from green to dark brown!  All these will be blown onto the grass then 'hoovered' up with the mower as the chopping not only assists the composting process but more importantly, makes collection so much easier I know Monty D. bangs on about compost and stirring it all the time.  We are not in that much of a hurry and in any case, there's more to life than stirring compost heaps!  Having said that; Chris has been known to turn it over into the other bay - when it's been emptied but we don't ever do more than that.  Incidentally, we do make very fine compost!