In this new style garden journal I don my waterproofs, go apple and pumpkin picking, plant up a present and rake up the problem of leaves in the garden.

Shapes and Shades of Autumn

As we approach the hunter’s moon on Monday uncertainty fills the air for gardeners across the UK and further afield. Storm Austen is making its presence felt as I write and cold on its heals is storm Boelo. Whilst some places will be hit harder than others, it’s clear that beyond the weekend change is likely to have come to gardens near you.

So far, this autumn has been deliciously mellow and its warmth has brought many useful gardening days. Indeed only yesterday you’d have found me knelt down in a cottage garden border under glorious sunshine, deciding which seedlings could stay to become next year’s flowery stars. Today though I work from home with Austen’s wind buffeting the shed in which I write. A nearby birch tree bends this way and that, long streaks of rain streak down the window and I’m staying well out of it whilst I have the chance. What a difference a day makes.

A gardener’s lot, whether agreeable or not, is to accept the weather however it turns out. The well-practised gardener will have learned from experience and prepared well for whatever comes their way, but even then, Mother Nature likes to throw a surprise in here and there, and every tree has its limits. This weekend will deliver surprises I’m sure, as will the fading days of autumn and the winter ahead, so I wish you well wherever you are.

Our mid-autumn gardens however are due their down time, even more so after such a blisteringly tough old year. We must therefore take heart in knowing that our gardens right now are just where they need to be. As such, embrace your place for everything it is right now, notice the varied shapes and shades of autumn, the seed heads that linger on, colour changing leaves and bright berries hanging in the hedgerows. Join me in slowing the pace, searching for the details and resist the urge to sweep autumn away.

A Poor Crop

I helped out this week with fruit picking where I work in Warwickshire, where traditionally a number of industrial-sized wooden crates are filled each autumn with apples for juicing. The weather of course played its part on the harvest days, as it has all year, although this time it forced us to dress from head to toe in wet weather gear.

A rustling and a scrumping we went with our trugs and extendable apple pickers, with the single aim of emptying each and every tree that carried a crop. Unfortunately, the useable crop was significantly down on quantity and quality compared to previous years.

To be fair, a good number of half-decent fruits were saved as fodder for pigs at the farm, and another good number were sent to the compost heap, as whilst they were not suitable for juicing, there was no desire to waste them. The results of our rainy-day efforts led to much mess room discussion about the reasons for such a poor yield this year. Pruning might have been a possible cause, although none of the trees had been neglected, or maybe it was a case of biennial bearing – where trees can produce a good crop one year but none or very few the next.

There were also issues with ermine moth caterpillars back in summer, which set up their extensive webbing networks on a number of trees causing damage and devastation as they chomped and stripped the foliage. The primary cause though of which we were pretty sure, was that summer drought had caused much stress to the trees themselves, with little to no moisture being available for months on end.

Whatever the cause, it was a joy to exist and work amongst those orchards this year, and to have had the opportunity to pick direct from the trees alongside the staff and volunteer team – what a special moment that was. Hopefully I’ll get amongst the trees with my pruners over the winter – if I get the chance, I’ll be sure to let you know.

Pumpkin Patch Pickings

Maybe three weeks or so ago, I visited the allotment plot to harvest our squashes (on Instagram as @allotofpotential). Choosing to ignore to the benefits of crop rotation with this particular crop, I stuck with the same growing space again this year, albeit with the addition of much well composted manure. I planted the pale skin coloured ‘Crown Prince’, and the multi-coloured heirloom variety Turk’s Turban.

Over the summer months, even with that soil improvement and a moisture saving ground sheet through which we planted, and with a topping of shredded bark, keeping the plants hydrated and thriving was quite a challenge. All told, around a dozen specimens were harvested, that whilst perfectly formed were a little on the small size, but size isn’t everything as people say.

I’ve grown Jack-O’-lanterns in previous seasons and have produced some lovely pumpkins for carving, but this season I wanted to taste the benefits properly, so to speak, so this year’s crop will not be carved up for Halloween, they are reserved for consumption. Tips for getting the best from a squash gratefully accepted – roasting or souping?

Pots of Joy for Christmas

I don’t usually offer tips, but if I could give one for the moment, it would be sure to ride on the bulb planting wave that is washes around the gardening world at this time of year.

Planting bulbs in pots is a great gifting idea for Christmas. I know, it’s so easy to pop into a garden centre in December and buy a ready-made winter planter as a gift, but does this speak to the gardener in you? Surely it makes sense to personally select the bulbs and plants and enjoy both the retail journey and the process of planting up the container as a gift?

One way to do this is to select a good-sized container along with a range of bulbs to plant in ‘lasagne’ fashion – in layers within the pot according to their preferred depth of planting. This provides you with the retail buzz of selecting a colourful mix of bulbs, let’s say tulips for the lower layer, followed by hyacinths, and maybe some crocus for the top layer. Then follows the green-fingered part where you plant the bulbs in peat-free compost and top it all off with gravel. You can add small winter hardy plants to the top of the pot but that’s entirely optional.

Along with a tag it makes for a weighty old gift, but just imagine the joy of delivering a container at Christmas filled with surprises for spring – the gift that keeps on giving!

Season of Silhouettes

Being in the midst of seasonal change I’m particularly drawn to leaves from deciduous trees at the moment. Many leaves have yet to turn their colours, whilst others are already well on their way to the season of silhouettes.

My role as a gardener practically calls on me to consider which leaves get to stay and hug the ground through winter, and which ones need to be collected and composted for all the good that does. The whys and wherefores of leaf clearing well may be under reconsideration by the great and the good, and I have my own thoughts on the subject, but on a basic level, at least I get to enjoy their snowflake-like individuality up close and personal, and that I love.

I’d also love to know what has caught your autumnal eyes in recent days, a vibrant or unusually shaped leaf, wispy sunlit grasses or fresh shoots on a long-suffering box shrub? Do let me know in the comments.

Best wishes, GW.