the September garden

After a flurry of activity in Spring and early Summer, I have neglected the garden. This is rather typical and usually at this time of year the garden would be in a right mess. But this year it is still nice, probably because I have been quite obsessive at the beginning of the year. It has been enjoyable to sit in the garden and watch the insects buzzing to and from. There was such a variety of flowers, it was amazing. Best of all, there didn't seem any need for me to weed or water very much, everything was thriving. There are still plenty of flowers now.


But the summer is clearly over, there are fewer flowers and more seed pods and heads. I had no idea that there was such a variety of seed containers! Well, I did really but I have never taken photos of them before and somehow the action of capturing the variety "on film" made me appreciate this life stage of flowering plants more. Aren't these just beautiful?


 
We also planted some vegetables, peas mostly and courgettes. We had more courgettes than even the biggest courgette lover could possibly eat. I don't think I want to eat another one for a while. The winter vegetables are looking promising (unless I am mistaking weeds for vegetables). The other day, Richard and I shared our first teeny tiny artichoke. It was a simple pleasure to dip the artichoke petals into mayonnaise and scrape the bottom off with my front teeth and finally sharing the small heart with Richard. Can I just say that this was in all likelihood the best ever artichoke I ate? I hope the plants survive the winter and produce more artichokes next year. James' Scotch Bonnet chillies and Hungarian Rhapsody chillies are turning red and will be harvested shortly. His tomato plant is still cropping. It turns out that my south facing living room window sill is as good as any green house. 


Our fruit trees have done ok this year. Not great but ok. We ate all our plums, still have plenty of apples, 5 pears that should be ready to be eaten soon and 3 quinces that are not quite ready either. I usually harvest the quince in October and with the current warm autumn weather, they should be ripe in time. I am not complaining, the pear tree is still young and the quince tree has produced fruit for the first time in three years, after a bumper crop that left me with enough quince jelly for two years. The apples don't seem to disappear from the tree this year, which is good. We have a new milk man, maybe he doesn't like apples.


We have eaten so many plums this year, I think my body is saturated and can't digest another one. The plum jam is delicious and I look forward to eating the honeyed plums later in the year, when  we get fed up with citrus fruit and apples. There was plenty of windfall for all the little creatures, too. I assume it is insects and slugs and maybe small rodents that eat the windfall but I am not sure.

In a few weeks time it will be necessary to clear the garden up for winter. I have little planting planned, just some fresh bulbs maybe and I would like to replace the hellebore that has mysteriously disappeared. I am not sure what happened to it, one week it was here and the next week it was gone.
All in all, our summer garden has been a great success and I am more than pleased. I hope you are equally happy with yours!

Changing subject: I did finally get around to finding a new home for my August socks. I wrote everybody's names on a piece of paper and folded them up, popped them all in a yellow knitted hat and then asked Richard to pull a name out. There must be a more bias proof way using random number generators or something like that but I quite like the old fashioned way. In any case, it wasn't me who picked the winner but my patient husband. The winner of the socks is Leanne from Today's stuff. What a lovely coincidence! Leanne did send me a lovely surprise last week and it only seems right that she should be the winner of my socks. If you could text me your full address, you'll have toasty toes in no time.

Have a great Tuesday! Cx

Comments

  1. Hey Christina,
    Yay!!! Thank you for picking me Richard for picking me out of the hat!! I will email you asap.
    Leanne xx

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  2. It looks like a lovely colourful garden. I have found there's nothing like photos to really get me interested and taking noticed. Bugs are my thing, it's amazing what I learn through macro shots of bugs and looking everything up! It's certainly very autumnal in my corner of the UK now, so many berries and today I kicked fallen leaves for the first time of the season :)

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  3. How beautiful your garden is, I especially love the seed photos. The plums look fantastic. I'm hoping I'll have a few on my little tree at the allotment next year. I made a little plum jam last week and it is honestly divine, I'd forgotten how delicious it is. Now all I need is more plums. Well done to Leanne on winning the socks, I know she will appreciate them. CJ xx

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  4. The seed pods are as beautiful as the flowers. Sounds like your garden is very productive Christina x

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  5. loving all your harvest. we planted fruit trees a couple of years ago, I am waiting impatiently for my first plums and apples x

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  6. Your garden is very productive - those plums look delicious. Fantastic seed pods too.

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  7. What a productive garden you have. Now that yours is tidy do you fancy coming and tidying mine? I have neglected it for the last few weeks and it is looking very overgrown ;). I am with you on the courgette glut, we had hardly any in August as it turned cold but now it has warmed up again we have masses. I have been busy making soup with them which I freeze and eat in the winter.

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  8. My garden is looking sadly neglected at the moment. I just wish I had more time.

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  9. What a harvest fellow gardener! I am enjoying cooking up the gluts too. Jo x

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  10. What a lovely harvest, that is a cute artichoke, I bet it was delicious! All those seed pods should mean more flowers next year too. Christina when you have a minute, please could you email me? I tried sending to your email address on your contact page but it has bounced back twice, not sure why. My add is lifeatsylvanhouse@gmail.com thank you xx

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  11. Your garden looks lovely! Lots of different things, and those plums! My garden is full of weeds, OH is poorly as well now so can't really ask him to weed :(

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  12. Oh I was too late for the socks - but I am glad Leanne won. :-)

    I think your garden is still looking really vibrant and colourful. Ours is like a wasteland, but that's my own fault for neglecting it so much while we were away. And you have so much wonderful fruit and veg, too. x

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  13. Your garden is still looking so well. The plums look delicious. We're just about plum-ed out too!

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  14. Your garden is doing great! You're lucky to have so many fruit trees. We don't have any where we live now and I would like to remedy that by putting in an apple tree. Well done on the artichoke. I tried growing them one year and they didn't do very well. My garden confession is by this time of the year I start to not care. I'm tired of watering and weeding. Time to rip it all out and start again next year!

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  15. What an abundant garden you've got! The apples and plums look gorgeous and courgettes are a staple in this house. Looks as though all your earlier hard work has paid off, good for you. xxx

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  16. Your garden is doing great, I love all the produce and the beautiful flowers. I bet that artichoke was delicious!
    Hugs to you,
    Meredith

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  17. Those seedheads are amazing - I don't think we take enough notice of them. I was reading the other day about how seedheads distribute themselves and they were photographed in such detail with their tiny hooks and wings. I can quite believe that was the best artichoke you've eaten.

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  18. What an amazing garden... There is a plant ... kind of looks like a flower, but the bud has an orange furry top... two of them, I'm really wondering what that is, it's gorgeous!
    Thank you for visiting me on my blog, I so appreciate when people stop by!
    tlcukjourney@gmail.com
    Much love,
    Tammy

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    Replies
    1. I think you mean the peonies seedhead. The flowers are dark red and huge. I have a photo of it somewhere in a post but can't find it....

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  19. I'm jealous of all of your fruit. We just saw some poppy seedheads at the community garden and their shape and texture was so interesting. Love that one in the big picture above.

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  20. Such beautiful photos Christina. I'd live some fruit trees in our garden and am looking into ones for containers. I'm terribly impatient though and would want them to crop immediately!! Lucky girl Leanne with the socks. Mine are growing. Very. Very. Slowly.

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  21. Lovely photos, nice bright colours. We're having such a lovely September so far this year that it seems hard to imagine that winter is so close once again, don't you think?

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  22. I'd love to have fruit trees one day. Maybe in our 'forever' garden. It must be so satisfying to pick your own and cook with them.
    Seedheads are wonderful and I always bring some into the house for an everlasting display. As for that artichoke... along with figs, I think they're some of the most beautiful things you can grow and eat.
    Sarah x

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  23. You have done pretty good with your fruit and veg, mine have been quite a failure this year! Booooo! I have managed some carrots and tomatoes, but I did not have the same motivation as last year! I don't know why. I loved looking at all of your photos, you have made me really want to grow courgettes again next year!

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  24. Your garden blooms are breathtakingly beautiful. Your fruits look delicious, and if this was an ok, I could only imagine how they'd look or taste like. Anyway, summer is waning and autumn is definitely on the rise, but your garden still has kept its wonderful vibrance. Thank you for sharing all those beautiful pictures! I hope everyone is in the best of health!

    Bethel Woodard @ Sollecito

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Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I love to hear from you, I really do. I sometimes reply by email but I am not all that reliable... Christina xx

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