Can't help dreaming....

As a follow-on from my last posting - one photograph of a place that some (most) of us might choose to be at this moment. Warm, blue sky... need I say more?

Well, it made me smile..

With a little enforced time inside out of the wet and wind I've had the opportunity to start sorting a few things out.

My daughter spent some time in the Solomon Islands during her university days and checking through a non-functional digital file storage device I've salvaged a hard-disk containing loads of photos and some videos of her travels. She knows about this, and has copies already before anyone asks...

One video clip made me smile today - which helped make up for a really bad weather day here. In the video I couldn't help but notice that wet ground didn't seem to put off the performers. Hope you enjoy...

Venturing out

As we appear to have been offered a dry day today I ventured to the allotment. It was with some trepidation I made the soggy walk to my plot, given all the rain and very strong winds of late.

I took some pictures of the plot, which was the best thing to do rather than actually venturing out on to any cultivated areas. The ground is completely saturated with water – a neighbouring plot has standing water in places about 4 inches deep! Fortunately my plot doesn't seem to be suffering from flooding, though the access path is very saturated to the point of squelching under foot. A number of fence posts have rotted off at ground level and will need replacing soon.

Saturated ground

Ground too wet to work

Rhubarb crowns - signs of life

Espalier apple - variety 'Howgate Wonder'

I managed to dig out some overwintering leeks – not the best specimens; some were a little soft in the heart. Still, enough for a meal tomorrow – by all accounts bacon and leek (something), yum..

I’ll be putting together my list of seeds to get for this year soon. Also, I’m looking forward to getting seed potatoes ahead of the potato weekend at Dundry nurseries.

I’ve been checking the Father Brown TV series on BBC1 this week as Snowshill Manor was used for some location filming last year. Today’s episode featured some good shots of the gardens and was a pleasant reminder of warmer and fairer conditions we enjoyed last year.

Slowing down ... stopped

The plan to slow down on the gardening front approaching Christmas occurred rather abruptly late last Thursday when I pulled some back muscles. Annoyingly, I wasn’t doing anything particularly taxing at the time, just carrying two large trugs with green waste in them. It was seriously painful and the journey from Snowshill to home was very uncomfortable. I had planned working on the Friday but that just didn’t happen.

So, all paid customer work together with my National Trust work for 2013  has finished. Plans to attend to my own garden and allotment haven’t happened due to the back issue plus some bad weather.

Last week I enjoyed the church Christmas lunch at the AppleTree pub in Woodmancote, and this week another Christmas lunch was enjoyed with the colleagues from the National Trust. Venue was the Fleece Inn at Bretforton near Evesham. The place is some 500-600 years old with seriously low doors, but full of character. The village also has some beautiful looking period properties, worthy of a proper visit, combined with a pub lunch perhaps in early 2014.

I am looking forward to recharging my gardening ‘batteries’ over Christmas. I have some plans to overhaul part of our back garden in the New Year. A recent visit to the allotment suggests that the ground is at the point where more mess and damage is likely to occur if any work is attempted on the soil.

Things are getting quiet…

While I was working at Snowshill last week and just about finished for the day, the village fell totally silent. Usually there is some background noise, some of which can carry a significant distance, such as dogs barking, farm machinery, or typically building/renovating work on the ‘chocolate box’ cottages that typify the environment. But, there was nothing – just a few birds, flying around looking for somewhere to bed down for the night.

I took some pictures and looking at them I’m struck by how, with this time of year nature is becoming quieter, settling down and waiting to rest over winter. Snowshill Manor itself, no longer open to the public sits resolutely, to face the next few cold months. The cottages opposite providing a bolt hole for people wishing to ‘escape’ to the country – to briefly sample a simpler life style.

The cottage gardens are now slowing down, as I pay my regular weekly visits to clear the autumn detritus preparing the borders to over winter. My time at these cottages is drawing to a close and early next month I shall leave the gardens to the winter weather and all that this might bring to bear.

Endings and beginnings

Earlier this week between jobs, time for a nice coffee break mid-morning and catching the sun just right.

A couple of pictures of the back garden (with recently revamped patio) with spectacular autumn colours from our Acer trees.

Patio view

Trees of fire

A final flourish of colour as autumn gathers pace, I think the best is yet to come. As we say goodbye to the autumn in a few weeks, when all leaves will have disappeared, we have hope in the future planting of tulip bulbs, poised in their pots and ready to explode with colour in April / May. It’s a long wait, but worth it.

Pots of promise

Allotment alchemy

As the allotment growing season begins to wind down I’ve caught up with some regular but important tasks.

Harvesting the last of the carrots has been fairly productive with plenty of good roots available to put to store – should last a few months in damp compost.

I’ve cleared the last of the broccoli plants – these have been very successful this year. Due mainly to being completed covered over with horticultural fleece from the moment of planting out in late spring. I was snipping off small ‘green trees’ almost every other week with no sign of white or black fly, and no caterpillars either. Also I think being covered with fleece provided additional protection from both strong wind and the very harsh and hot sunshine during July and August.

I’ve recently planted out over wintering onion sets and garlic. In the picture below is just the completed bed with leaf mould incorporated – really pleased with the improving soil condition in this spot. Also after clearly one of my no dig beds of carrots I’ve applied a top dressing of leaf mould in readiness for next season.

Garlic & overwintering onion bed

Talking of leaf mould; I have discovered ‘gold’ … The pictures show before and after (after about a 2 year wait I hasten to add). The resultant transformation from leaf to leaf mould is wonderful stuff. Rich, earthy, pleasant to the touch and smells great. Pure ‘gold’.

Holding pen

Raw ingredients

Plenty of winter digging awaits to prepare for next year.

At home, I’ve been maturing the butternut squashes. As can be seen from the photos quite a variety in sizes, with the largest about 15 inches in length.

I’ve also got some late tomatoes going in the small green house – still picking fresh and very tasty toms. Yumm…