A little autumnal gardening

I have had a lovely day “off”. It’s not really off -- I’m at work now. But I was at home, or out and about until I left for work at 3:30.

It was raining this morning, which I rather thought might scupper my gardening plans. So I did some washing and some ironing and pottered about and generally meandered. Marlo meandered with me. The Builder did not. We had dispatched him through storms, tempests, downpours and lakes on the road off to Rampton to continue building secure wards for the poorly patients. We didn’t have storms, just a bit of rain. But nevertheless, I had cocoa and crumpets for breakfast and cups of tea as the morning progressed and did some light cleaning and some light tidying and some general creating of order. Oh, and I finally worked out how to use the new photocopier! I have yet to use it as a printer, but photocopier will do for now.

Then I took myself off to the Dunstan Hall Garden Centre. Gill and Peter gave me some National Garden Gift Vouchers back in August and I thought I might use them to buy something for the new garden bed. I wandered around (it had more or less stopped raining by then) and selected a yellow flowered viburnum (not that it’s flowering now; it has lovely red leaves at the moment!) and some pansies and some local honey. I paid for these myself. Then I used Gill and Peter’s vouchers to buy a lovely twisted Witch hazel. A purple one. At least, it has purply leaves and purple catkins. It’s very sweet. And will be lovely in winter because it has twisted branches. Well, twigs, really, at the moment. But it will grow! I’ve planted the viburnum and witch hazel in the new garden bed. I’ve also rescued the lambs ears which were suffering somewhat under the hydrangea in the pot on the front - don’t know what to call it, really. I always want to refer to it as the front verandah, though it doesn’t have a verandah. Like wise, can’t refer to it as the front porch. No porch! Anyway, out the front. I hadn’t realised quite how effective an umbrella the hydrangea was. The poor lambs ears were getting very dehydrated and bedraggled. So. They’re in the new bed, I hope enjoying the drizzle, plus I’ve moved some small snapdragons and some tiny wild strawberry plants from the soon to be demolished raised bed at the back and put them in the new bed. It’s starting to take shape.

Then I went to the allotment. The new allotment. Very exciting. I’ve made my first sowing on it. The Builder dug up one useable bed a few weeks ago. I have now sown three short rows of green broad beans and three of red. I’ve never had red broad beans before. Apparently, if you steam them, they retain their redness when you cook them. So yes. Very exciting. New allotment and all that. But it was a bit sad too. It was the final and very last nail in the coffin of the Hangingwater allotment. I’ve not given it back yet, but there will be no further plantings by me up there. Was quite wistful, really. And I was definitely conscious of the “ghost” of Martin hovering. Not that Martin is dead (or he wasn’t the last I heard). Not that I would necessarily have expected to see Martin even at Hangingwater on a damp Thursday afternoon - but I never will see him on this allotment and he’s never going to be there to complain about how closely together I’ve put the plants and there will be no further companionable sitting about on summer evenings, leisurely watering and chatting and him complaining that my unorthodox gardening techniques nevertheless seem to work :-( . I might have to persuade him to move to Tupton and take on an allotment here. I wonder what Mrs Martin will think!!!

Speaking of allotments, I must find the time soon to go and gather in the rest of the sweet corn. It might be unbelievably mild for October (which it is; it is therefore also unbelievably foggy quite often!) but it gets quite chilly at night. And some of the leeks might be getting almost big enough to use as thinnings. Might go on Saturday. I’m at Psalter, which is not a huge distance.

So. I went home. Made some soup. Pottered about. Had a shower. Got dressed for work (can’t go in my muddy trackies!). Came back downstairs. Made a cup of tea. Was quietly supping the tea when there was an enormous crash. The cat and I looked around. Couldn’t see anything. Shortly after there was another crash and Max the dog next door started barking. Went out to investigate. Steve and Max were investigating too. It was the man from Arnold Laver delivering The Builder’s wood. Hooray! The destruction of the breeze block raised beds gets ever closer!!

An hour and ten minutes to home time. I’ve had my share of the soup. I rather enjoyed it. Hope The Builder enjoys his too!