For a couple of days last week the skies cleared and the sun shone. After a short holiday away, a return to work wasn't so very awful. We've had plenty of dark cloud and rain recently but with sunlight filling the valley, there's nowhere I would rather be. And neither, I suppose, would Digby the … Continue reading Autumn Light
Autumn
September Days
After a hot, dry September the garden is tired. The meadow is spent; spring and summer wild flowers are over and have set seed. It will be mowed next week. But there is still some colour at the Priory - although any remaining flowers in the kidney beds have had scant help from me recently. … Continue reading September Days
Sun And Leaf
Sorry for the lack of posts recently but I've been away on various short trips - Gloucestershire and Bristol, Spain and Berlin. They have all been jolly and I've particularly enjoyed the buzz of large towns and cities - and dressing accordingly. So a return to solitary gardening; to shabby clothes, muddy knees and damp … Continue reading Sun And Leaf
From Up On High
Scaffolding has gone up at the Priory. Though I don't have a head for heights, I couldn't wait to get up there and see the gardens from a new perspective. At the first (gutter height) level I could look down on to the tropical border. And, after a deep breath, I white-knuckle-climbed the second ladder … Continue reading From Up On High
Cutting Back
Though it doesn't officially start until tomorrow, autumn has crept up on me these past couple of weeks. Low sun and pale mist greet me when I arrive - soon the mist down here in the valley will be heavier: cold, dense and wet. Dock seed-heads (of which there are far too many) sparkle with … Continue reading Cutting Back
Cutting the Flower Meadow
Have you noticed how ubiquitous 'Wild Flower Meadows' have become? Whether it is a small garden bed, raked over and sown with a wild flower seed mix, or an acre or more of unimproved grassland, summer meadows shimmering with native flowers and buzzing with insects are now widespread; de rigueur even. And quite right too. … Continue reading Cutting the Flower Meadow
Autumn Snapshots
Here's a few photos taken over the past week or two. A forbidding portal to another, darker place? Nah, just the Priory Drive descending through the wood ... ... and down into a valley of mist and frost. Overlooking neighbouring fields. The tulip tree (right) and beech hedging on the autumnal turn. The tulip tree … Continue reading Autumn Snapshots
The Anxious Gardener 