Mess, Mush and Yet More Leaves!

A single lovely frosty morning and then back to the usual muggy, mild and rainy weather!  Just what we didn't want! The ground is already sodden but we persevered as best we could. It was too wet for real border work but we were able to lift dahlias and cut down dead herbaceous plants in the top lawn border. We pressed on and cleared away much of the slimy debris working from the edge of the lawn and the path as 'mush' as we could!

I'm really not sure about the modern idea of leaving all the dead stems and seed heads for the birds to eat and the frost and snow to adorn.  Dead plant material in these conditions just collapses and turns to black mush and there's no sign of birds eating mush!  In any case, our birds have cordon bleu avian menus daily!    Having said that, we then turned our attention to blowing away another week's collection of dead leaves and, to speed up the process a little, Chris put his (new) blower through the trees themselves which was much more fun - as you'll see:  Speeding up leaf fall! 

As usual, darkness came much too soon and Chris ended up doing some winter Prunus pruning by torchlight!

Winter fruit tree pruning

As well as the usual leaf clear up ( and there were more than ever!) it was time for some timely winter pruning of an old pear tree. This is an inherited tree growing in a less than ideal spot and we are preserving it purely because it plays host to a showstopper of a clematis. This is the only reason we are keeping it as, despite living at 'Pear' Tree Cottage; pears are not a big favourite in our household.  It was of course Chris untangling the clematis from the tangle of twigs and branches from the top of the ladder.  The trouble with most fruit trees is that everything snags and tangles making the brash such a pain to deal with.  Anyway, we couldn't complain as the weather was clear and sunny despite the very soggy ground conditions!  We weren't the only ones hard at work on a Saturday either as Bulmers were lugging their apple harvest in the adjacent orchard.

A Reminder of Summer.

Back in the summer we had a group of artists from various WI groups in the county.  One of the ladies was very kind and has sent me this watercolour she did looking through the green doors and beyond to the greenhouse path.  I think I shall hang it over my desk in the Pear Hut (which is more like a writing room but such a name sounds a tad pretentious!)  It's only right that it should be hung in the garden!  A big thank you to Janet Pearce of Bewdley, Worcestershire.

Last word on colour - promise!

I promise not to mention colour again..............BUT, these untouched photos were both taken on a dark, dank, damp November day.  See what I mean about beacons in the garden???

'This week, Oi 'ave bin mostly..................'

The Raspberry Patch

...........muck spreading!!  Yes really.  A lovely neighbour who farms up the lane brought us a bucket load - that is, a tractor sized bucket!  This is the real deal - well rotted farm yard manure.  Chris and I barrowed it around the garden and shared it out between the roses, raspberries, Beech hedge and, of course the veg patch.  Our muck fork doesn't usually get a lot of use but yesterday made up for that.  It's quite a smug feeling to know that all that goodness is ready in situ for next year.  I promise I only put down my fork to take a couple of piccies!

The Veg Patch

All Bark and Plenty of Bite!

Acer griseum

Inherited common Birch - probably a Betula Pendula or Pubescens

Prunus Serrula

It's not just the leaves that are full of colour!  Check out the paper bark maple (Acer Griseum) and the Birches.  I know!  Here she goes again but all summer long this fab bark has been hidden by the leaf canopies and suddenly all these naked forms are being revealed fro winter!  When these have lost their remaining leaves, the bark will stand out even more. This is exactly what's needed on a dark winter's day.  Despite all the hard work devoted to leaf clearing, it's worth every minute.  Some of these trees are uplit at night and they look more spectacular in winter than in summer.  I find that surprising as I imagined that in summer when there's a lot of leaf surface from which the light can bounce, they would carry more impact.  Not so.  The skeletal forms of winter are far more striking - especially in snow!

Beacon in the Garden!

I know I keep banging on about colour but we Brits associate November with darkness, wet, fog and general greyness!!  We don't associate this month with the sort of colour that abounds right now.  We have one Acer that sits pretty much in the middle of the garden totally exposed to winds and sun and I don't think it's meant to be this happy!!  Most Acers prefer dappled shade and a modicum of shelter from wind.  Right now this one is the jewel in the crown and its colour is startling from every other point in the garden.  Even from the kitchen it's like a giant glowing lamp! When the sun shines, its nothing short of dazzling and on the darkest day it's like a big warm beacon.  As if that wasn't good enough - to think that when it drops all its leaves, we get to compost them all!  Oh, and in case you're wondering: it's an Acer palmatum dissectum Seiryu and it moved here in a pot from my last garden!