Autumn leaves and aconites...
Prunus Leaves
When autumn digs itself in, so to speak, I spend the first days in awe of its beautiful colours. I smile at the fluttering leaves, kick the dry ones on the lawns, listening to them crunching and crackling. I love autumn!
Get the rake out...
But all too soon the leaves get thicker underfoot, and I sigh. I suppose I'd better get the rake out. Blast!
Now autumn becomes a time of raking, rather than dreamy loveliness. Sore shoulders from raking and stuffing uncooperative leaves into bags. And doing it all again, and again.
OK. So let the raking commence? Today I will work in the Pond Paddock. Compostable leaves will be bagged, while some nearer the borders can be raked straight onto the garden.
Dead Cordyline leaves can be tied into small bundles to be kindling for the log burner. Gum leaves can go on the fence-line piles ready for the first autumn bonfire (when the fire ban is lifted).
And if I get bored with leaves I can do trimming. Yeay! Autumn trimming! There's always lots of autumn trimming to do. Then my fingers will get a bit sore rather than my shoulders...
Later...
Hmmm. It's taken me five hours to get nowhere, but I've been working on it happily. Are we there yet? Am half way through trimming the Aconites - bits of which are poisonous, not sure which bits. Aargh! Just checked - all the bits.
Aconites
I guess one might ask - why grow poisonous plants? Because these beauties feed the bees in autumn, self-seed with unrationed generosity, and fill up interiors of large borders with beautiful blue autumn flowers. Like a budget Delphinium (different flowering season, though).
I've bagged up oak leaves, cleaned up Phormiums, planted lupins by the cottage, weeded, raked, and chopped a diseased rhododendron down to three knee-high sticks. Get over it, Mister President Roosevelt (have two others, healthy as).
Cornus Cherokee Chief
Relaxing apres-gardening, I've just ordered a home delivery of fresh salmon, and milk in glass bottles to be delivered weekly at the gate by a local dairy business. Yum!
Hurray for garden distancing...
And I've just wandered over to take a look at the Pond Paddock. I jolly well did get somewhere! Such an improvement - I couldn't see any when I was busy working. Hurray for garden distancing...
The Pond Paddock