The mists of mellow fruitfulness

Oh it’s that time of year again. 

That back-to-school time with new exercise books, sharpened pencils and cobwebs spread over all the rounded shrubs. There’s definitely a nip in the air and the evenings started to draw in a couple of weeks ago. This is when all the light bulbs keep going, as we start turning on the lamps again.

I think this is the most difficult time for the garden to look good. I’m probably in my September of life too. Everything’s grown a little bit too big and floppy (I’m talking plants now, not me!). The pots of bedding plants look pretty fed up and all the annuals are flowering at the very end of the stalks. If you’ve planted ahead for this time of year, your flowers are all orange, red and yellow – it’s true that blue is the colour of Spring.

But don’t despair! Like a teenager’s bedroom, one good tidy up can make a lot of difference if you’re prepared to be ruthless! Anything that looks tired and old really does have to go (Madam, put your husband back in his chair!). Cut back the annuals really hard and give them a feed with a multipurpose plant feed.

Top up the pots with some decent compost, water them well and group them together for the maximum colour.

Scrub your table and chairs, buy some cheap cushions and throw away all those old candle stubs you used for the one barbecue you had this summer. Dead head pots of geraniums and line them up on a sunny wall, or build a shelf.

Clean patios of all the dead leaves and debris, sweep and jet wash and tie in all the long straggly bits of roses and clematis, or cut them back hard if they’ve outgrown their allotted space. And pick up all those apples over the lawn – wear rubber gloves to avoid wasps.

Go to your local nursery and buy the best looking plants you can find. Don’t go for the reduced annuals or sale bench – you want big pots of Chrysanths, Asters, Sedums and later flowering plants. Be brave and buy lots of exactly the same variety and colour and then put them in the garden in all those empty spaces in groups of three.

As the year progresses, we all end up with pots of things that didn’t get planted out, bags of potting compost rolled over like a fat ladies tights, we no longer bother to take out the washing line. It’s all been a bit too much effort and we feel that the garden is nearly over!

For goodness sake, let’s mobilise our last bit of energy before we sink into the armchair for a winter of Midsomer Murders repeats. Pretend your garden is a room! Make it look lovely! It’s the biggest room in your house! Stir yourself, and your spouse if you believe in miracles. Clean up, cut back, fill in the gaps, tie in the overgrown bits and enjoy it all again. That applies to the garden too!
If you’d like ideas for your garden, then call me! Louisa Bell, City & Country Gardens 01903 891441 01903

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