ruminate vb. to chew (the cud)
Looking at the garden from an upstairs window, especially when the sun is shining, it really doesn't look bad at all. Get down amongst it and things are less rosy; it's soggy and mouldering and if we get the dry day the forecast is promising for tomorrow I'm going to chop a lot down, shred…
They're a funny group of plants, Begonias. In the UK, for most people what comes to mind when you mention Begonias is the bedding plant Begonia semperflorens and all the other brassy and brash bedding types, followed by the houseplants, typified by the rex tribe and their propensity for dying in short order. I already…
Storm Ciaran came and went and in spite of dire warnings we escaped with very little damage as it seems to have tracked a little further south than it might have, with the strongest winds hitting the Channel Islands and northern France. The garden did get something of a thrashing though and I think it…
We've had a sister and a niece staying this week, diverting my thoughts away from matters horticultural and towards genealogy. My sister was researching the Plympton chunk of our family tree, that being where my dad came from and where my grandad had a nursery that sadly no longer exists. The garden looks exactly the…
The 15th of October last year was the last SoS hosted by The Propagator, the 22nd, the first hosted by me. If you're reading this Jon, I hope you're well and have enjoyed being free of the self inflicted responsibility that SoS entails. Jon hosted the meme for 283 weekly episodes from its inception; I…
When it reaches this time of year and the rain doesn't know when to stop, you have to be grateful for anything in the garden that is hanging in there and performing in some way. Never mind that it's as common as muck or a hideous clashy colour, at least it's not green or brown.…
I've been out in the garden with my camera to film a snapshot of how it looks in October. Pretty good, as it turns out, though the weather has now taken a turn for the worse, autumn is tightening its grip and the overall trajectory is a downward one. Filmed 10th & 11th October 2023.…
October already, how did that happen? I just looked back at my post for this time last year, I had Aster and Golden Rod still flowering; they're finished this year. I had just cleared away tomatoes; this year it was a fortnight earlier. The weather is lovely, the garden is looking in good shape, we…
Last day of the month and I'm on my hols. We're on the Scillies for a short break, made shorter by both boat and planes being cancelled on Wednesday when we were due to travel. It was a breezy force 11 here in gusts, we were told today, so it was probably better to lose…
For a while it seemed like autumn had been put on hold, there was lots flowering, quite a bit of new growth, and while it was all getting a bit overgrown it was at least standing up. Wednesday's weather was a blow in two senses and it's not looking so pretty now. Some Dahlias have…
garden ruminations 