September days! Sunshine and rain, fruit and butterflies, ripening berries and curling leaves. There is much to enjoy as Summer pleasures have their last fling and hints of Autumn creep in.
The tomatoes have been abundant. Those I planted in the tunnel have been especially good. Big, juicy ripe tomatoes just keep on coming. Even underneath the sprawling foliage they have ripened readily so they don’t need extra sunshine in order to turn red. They turn red because they’re tomatoes, not because the sunlight changes the colour from green. I have grown “Roma” for years. Big plum tomatoes with few seeds and delicious flesh, they’re good raw or cooked.
Basil grows well with tomatoes but this year I have grown the basil in the old greenhouse where I’ve always grown it and the tomatoes in the new greenhouse and one of the tunnels. The crop is maturing now so I need to make more pesto to freeze for winter meals. If I leave it too long it will be tough and bitter. I will let some flower though because the pollinating insects enjoy it.
Apples and pears are ready to harvest. Some have fallen and are useable if I gather them before the bruises spoil them. I leave some crushed ones for the wildlife. Red Admiral butterflies love to sip the juice of pears and blackbirds eat the apples.
The squash have been gathered in. I only have three but they’re a good size. Plenty for the two of us. These will keep until winter and be delicious roasted or made into soup.
Homegrown carrots have a superb flavour and are sweet and tender. Enjoying these now. I hope to have enough for Winter but I usually underestimate or sow a crop too late to reach a good size. Every year I have good intentions but they don’t always succeed.
I always grow one sweet pepper plant and this time I have only two peppers on it. These are just for me and I simply like to see them growing. Fascinating to see them develop from the tiny pretty white star-shaped flowers and eventually become glistening ruby jewels.
At the bottom of the garden by the new greenhouse I decided to change a vegetable bed into a flower bed. The vegetables never grew well and I really need to cut down my workload. So we bought perennial plants and have begun to establish this area for pleasure rather than for food. I need a few more to fill the space but already when I sit in the greenhouse I have a lovely view to enjoy.
Birds, insects and animals have been busy in the garden since the weather became more moderate. I garden organically and biodiversity in the garden prevents a build up of pests. Apart from the benefits for growing healthy crops I love to see the fascinating creatures which live in the garden. Here’s a selection of those I’ve seen over the last two weeks.
While the weather was extremely hot my Cosmos plants, which I grew from seed, were half-dead. The soil was too dry despite a daily watering. I almost ripped them out. So glad I didn’t! Since the rain returned they’ve greened up and are beginning to flower. They might still put on a show until the frost begins.
My sunflowers suffered too but they’re still alive and although the flowers are small and not the red shown on the seed packet they’re a cheerful sight. These are not the giant type of sunflower but they are lovely.
Other pleasing sights caught my eye as I walked around the garden. Magenta Petunias, Delicate “Water Lily” Colchicum, Asters, Buddliea, Euonymus berries and creamy-white Echinacea.
Despite the heat the Verbenas in a trough were beautiful for a few weeks. Fabulous colours in complementary shades have given me so much pleasure.
I have a few houseplants. My two Sansieveria stand beside the fireplace in the living room. They have stood motionless and seemingly unchanging for a long time but then I noticed a tiny green shoot had appeared in one of the plant-pots. I thought how fascinating and wonderful that beneath the soil some magic had silently occurred which sent up a fresh new shoot. How mysterious and interesting! What had stimulated the plant to reproduce? Soon it will be a tall, handsome new leaf.
As regular readers know I love pottery and have picked up many interesting pieces over the years from charity shops, flea markets and from the potters themselves. In my kitchen windowsill I have three tiny Toby jugs which I love. They are very small and each has its own character although they are all based on the theme around the legendary Toby Philpot. I’m not sure how the story goes but it’s about a character who has a liking for a good pint of beer.
The one on the right seems to be made of plaster of Paris and hand-painted. It was probably home-made, although I bought it in an antique shop. The other two were made by Staffordshire potteries and glazed after being painted. Unusual to see Toby jugs this small. I was lucky to find them. As you can see, each has a pot in his hand and a three-cornered hat. The middle one has an ear trumpet. They make me smile.
Summer is fading but there is much to be enjoyed at this time of year. Here’s a little poem I wrote in 2021 about the changes.
Changing Seasons
The fragrance of the damp earth
Mingles with each fallen leaf
And lavender wafts its sweet scent
Now Summer's days are brief.
The wasps are feasting on the fruit
Which drops upon the ground
And butterflies with their dainty tongues
Sip without a sound.
Toadstools, mushrooms instantly appear
Spontaneously rising in the night
Their ever fascinating forms
A strange but pleasing sight.
Blackberries glisten in the hedge.
Despite their ripping thorns
They're gathered eagerly and eaten
As early Autumn dawns.
Each season has its pleasures
And Summer's soon will end
But another one will take its place
And our melancholy mend.
This is a busy time of year. Gathering in the harvest of fruit, making chutney, freezing surplus for winter treats. These are pleasures of the season. I hope you are enjoying your own way of marking the time of year. With you again in two weeks . Bye for now.
Living a contented creative life. 