Autumn In The Air

We are now in the middle of November and I am well behind in my blogging, in fact I still need to revisit everything we achieved in September and October. One month at a time, here goes with September albeit a brief roundup!!

The month started with some more bulb planting. We were slightly disappointed with the number of daffodils in daffodil walk so we bought a big bag of mixed narcissi and daffodils.

The bulbs were planted between the line of shrubs which are now sporting their new anti-deer defences!

The tomatoes kept coming so of course there was plenty more soup and passata made for the freezer.

I couldn't believe the carrots we harvested this year, they were so tasty. We sowed 3 different types and they all grew extremely well although I think the best tasting ones were the purple carrots.

Most of the carrots were lovely straight specimens but we did find a couple of wonderful wacky shaped ones.

They were purple on the outside but inside they looked orange with really interesting pattern.

Our Camellias didn't have the best start in life as they were planted just before the hot dry weather set in from May. One of them was also munched by deer or rabbit but this little beauty seemed to have survived and even had new glossy leaves. It was too late for flowers this year but you never know we might possibly be treated to some blooms next year.

 

Mum gave us a pot of Rudbeckia which also had a little ground cover plant (name unknown). We planted them in the woods and eventually there were flowers and buds to be seen. We were not sure if they would be deer resistant but decided to give them a go.

Strangely we had a late bloom on one of our latest little white Rhododendron, there were plenty of buds which didn't open so hopefully it won't affect the flowering next summer.

Our Passion Flower plant had been residing in the greenhouse for ages but M found the perfect place for it near the orchard where it could climb happily over the fence. What a delight we had when the flowers appeared, they are amazingly intricate and so beautiful.

We didn't have much of a harvest from our fledgling orchard but we managed a few lovely plums from the Victoria Plum tree.

There's something wonderful about fresh veg from the garden and despite our meagre broccoli harvest we had a gorgeous meal, along with our sausages it was all home grown.

When you get invited out for dinner it's customary to take a gift and, trying not to conform to the tradition of chocolates or wine, we took a variety of home grown and home made produce (M made some incredible crab apple jelly). It definitely makes for a good talking point!

I had another trip away to visit my aunt with mum but when I was back on the smallholding we had plenty to do. The continuing good weather had encouraged the weeds to keep growing so out came the strimmer in a bid to give our bulbs and plants a chance to grow in the spring.

It took a while but was definitely worthwhile as the 'white' garden was looking great, all neat and tidy.

 

I was completely amazed that our jalapenos were still producing chillies and rather than let them go to waste I made another batch of poppers destined for the freezer.

We had Storm Ali visit us nearing the end of the month and although we survived pretty well we did lose a couple of trees along with a few big branches.

M did a marvellous job with the chainsaw and filled up one of the byre bays where the wood could season before being used in the wood burner next year.

 

It looked like Storm Ali didn't like our sweetcorn or beans and knocked them all over. It was shame as this was the best sweetcorn we've had since moving here. Well that was the kick we needed to clear up the last of the veg bed.

By the end of the month it was clear that summer was now behind us, a distant memory. With autumn well under way the shorter days and cooler nights were starting to turn the leaves a rich mix of red, yellow and brown. A beautiful end to an amazing summer.