NOVEMBER'S HERE

 So there is a definite chill in the air and the nights are drawing in and we have now moved into the month of November.

Paul's been putting plants away for the last few weeks, emptying pots and putting them into storage, the leaves that had turned red are now dropping.

The field maple inside the folly walls

The last of the sun hitting the walls of the folly.

This Clematis is still flowering despite the cold.

from the path

inside the folly

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The folly floor covered by the maple leaves.

Out in the front garden the smoke bush is vibrantly burning red in the corner.

It's beautiful red leaves sing out for several weeks.

The red of the spindle tree brightens the opposite corner by the edge of the drive.

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Still flowering at the front are three different Fuchsia's all taken as cuttings by Paul years back. The pale pink came from the garden of a cottage we stayed at in Yorkshire.

The 'Yorkshire ' Fuchsia.

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View from the road of the house, well it's behind this wall for shrubs we planted to save us looking out on any cars parked in the road.

View of the house from the drive, still plenty of green and reds.

A CATCH UP

 Well Paul's been working on the flower garden. Clearing each of the four beds one at a time, weeding, moving and adding plants and mulching with our compose from the bins, then adding a layer of small bark chips, hopefully to help keep the weeds down.

One of the cleared and replanted, mulched beds. Because we increased the size of them, we have had to bring forward some of the smaller plants than were edging the previous smaller beds and were then smothered by  bigger plants. We also added some of the plants we had in pots that had got to big.

Today was the first really cold day we have had, but the sun still shone although the air was chilly.

The planting is filling up around the raised stream bed.

the wild life pond has wild life or I should say tiny fish! Paul put some pond oxygenator from the big pond in and it must have had some eggs on it as there were three tiny fish that appeared.

Alas one died earlier this week but then he counted four! so a few more must have hatched or been hiding. They are tiny and very fast, so hard to always count them.

The greenhouse windows have all been cleaned and bubble wrap added to help through the coming winter months. We have invested in a parafin heater and have already put the lemon tree inside since last night was so cold as well as today despite the sunshine.

So the next few weeks will be all about putting away those plants that need winter protection and covering those that need it where they stand. So a busy few weeks.

FINISHING THE OLD ROCKERY CHANGE

 

So paving blocks in place.

Believe it or not, the blocks are the same as used round the paving edging but those have been down years, so over time these should blend in more.

The grass with regrow over the winter, which will tidy the area up.

We have added some pots with small spring bulbs, so we will get some nice early colour next spring. Some of the other plants will need protecting over the winter.

A SMALL CHANGE

 Looking forward to when we won't maybe have as much time or movement to work in the garden, we have been making some spaces that need a refresh also less work intensive.

So the old rockery raised bed has finally been reduced in depth and raised at the front by another two rows od broken paving. We found this didn't work in it's original size due to the shrubs that have increased in size over the years which constantly dropped leaves over everywhere and it was low enough that one of the dog's decided that he could walk over it if no one was watching!

We had removed the rockery stones and used them to infill the stream and wildlife pond area at the back of the garden.

So while we were working on this area we also cut back some of the shrubs and removed a small Lilac tree which was struggling. Due to being on a hill, the garden drops away quite a bit on this side, there is a small gulley which the shrubs are growing in behind the raised beds here. So we had a good sort out on what could stay and what could go.

We will need to do something with the area now left in front of the new reduced raised bed.

Now originally we were going to completely cover the raised bed and the smaller one next to it with paving but we always look again at our plans once we reach a certain point. We considered should be try making the raised bed into a flower bed? 

But in the end we decided to not complete cover the area but around two thirds of it along the back, and put in some low growing trailing plants at the front edge.

So today we went and bought some lovely black limestone paving , which after adding some weed suppressant fabric below and then some bricks on their edge, the paving was placed across the top.

Then some pots were added, still space for some more and the front edge was planted up.

So on the lower small raised area there was a nice little geranium, which was doing well, so instead of moving it we decided to place a smaller sized paving slab on three quarters of that area, again we used weed suppressant under the paving and lined edge with bricks.

So we just need to sort out the area in front of the larger wall and place a pot on the last area at  the far left until next year, when we may place some paving there back to the fence and use for a small greenhouse for scented Pelargoniums.

With the paving on and now reduced the planting area and we can use it for lots of pots next year.

SOME WALL POTS

 I recently visited my youngest daughter and saw she had not filled two terracotta wall pots that were on the brick wall that forms the boundary between her and the neighbour who lives behind her.

I went to check to see if they'd ever been planted up since she'd moved in a couple of years back and saw that they had not been used at all. So I decided to ask if she liked them and was intending to us them. She said she didn't intend to use them, she felt they were too heavy for the wall and was worried they could fall off and hit one of her children if planted up.

Naturally I asked if I could have them if she didn't really want them. She was more than pleased for me to take them home with me after my visit. So I set about removing the earth in them and then she helped me get them off the wall. It did give me a chance to see that the brick wall they were hanging on was in a bad state of repair and really needs rebuilding or replacing. This is a boundary wall and she needs to check her deeds to see who it belongs to. I believe she'll find it's the neighbour behind the wall as the wall runs behind both her neighbours either side of her and further on. Either way removing the pots was probably a good idea along with speaking to the neighbour.

The pot on the left came off the wall easily but the one on the right we had to fight with as the screws holding it on were too big for the holes, so we landed up removing the screws along with the pot!

Once back home, Paul put them up below Neptune on the back wall of the house between the two sets of French doors.

A trip to the local garden centre and they are now planted up with some colour which will hopefully last until the frosts arrive in a few months.

So It's always worth asking that question, you never know the answer could be yes.

A MOVE

 Since we need to pave the centre of the flower garden and even though it probably won't be happening until next spring, it still means we are thinking about what needs to happen.

So we decided we needed to move the sun dial to a new place as it would be in the way, where it was in the centre of the flower garden and it would maybe look to weathered when new paving is laid.

So we have moved up onto the circle of paving where the three paths meet by the folly. Above is a photo looking from the side of the folly.

Looking from the Lych Gate

Lastly from the path to the back fence.

From further back showing the sun dial now looking to be in front of the doorway to the folly.

We also cut back some of the shrubs that were beginning to cover the glass on the gazebo, so that more light can get through. It's surprising how much difference some careful pruning can do.

The flower garden does have a nice amount of colour in the beds.

another of the beds

another of the beds

The last one.

Lots of colour also in the house garden. Every where will need some adjustments come the autumn and next spring but looking lovely and the butterflies are loving it.

just a couple, a Red Admiral and a Peacock, there were three peacock butterflies and two red admiral butterflies resting on just this one bench seat.

This orange/brown one

another Peacock sunning it's self

and this one I saw in my friends courtyard garden.

So lots to see and do in the garden at present