SNOWING LEAVES AND A CONFESSION

This is the garden a week ago before the ash trees started snowing pale yellow leaves. It looks like high summer but you can see the first telltale leaf colouring on top of the cherry tree.
Now I do not have a blower, just a rake, though I have just pressure washed the paving around the house as I nearly went toe over tonsure on the slippery stone. Whilst washing away the debris I found it was an effective way of blasting away the fallen leaves.

Of course, this morning it had leafed again and I will now wait for the last ones to drop. Then they can be picked up and put in a large sack I have - to make leaf mould - a slow process but good for the soil.

Our dog has been nodding away in the gales (and rusting away) but seems to appreciate the pansies.
The pot is subplanted with bulbs and I now realise I have done the usual thing and ordered too many. Where to put them to advantage? Where to put them at all!
Add to that the 20 small box plants - Mmmm!

Our garden has hidden corners (apart from the grandchildren's den) where I can surreptitiously dump mowings without going all the way to the compost heap. There is one as shown concealed behind the flowering currant (the one adorned with a huge Rambling Rector rose) by the old well. The latter is capped and fenced in and so on to avoid anyone falling down it.

Apart from the stream and two small ponds there is plenty of water in the garden - it springs up all over the place after heavy rain.

You can see from the photo that not quite all of the scruff has been cleared. The dead brown things were wild angelica which seeds itself widely across the garden.

The weather remains very mild, no frost yet, and so the slugs are out clearing up the last of the courgettes - it has got to half for us half for them. The Cardoon shown below has only just ceased flowering but its heavy architectural flower heads are still standing - tomorrows gale might deal with that.
Nasturtiums flourish on and have not gone slimy from the cold, there are a few roses and cosmos on a cosmological scale.

Berries survive as the fieldfares and redwings are still absent.

Incidentally the BBC TV programme Autumnwatch is coming from Leighton Moss next week - not far way across the bay.
Yesterday went north to Carlisle and though they are but one and a half hours up country they were definitely more autumnal.

Ah! Yes - The Confession - I am a lazy gardener. Not an everyday with the Wellies on one. Plants that give ground cover, need little management are great. I know the great clear up is almost upon me, the great manuring, and am steeling myself for that but tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and so on.

What Ho! Molesworth - can you not invent a garden machine like your fantastic lines machine?
What Ho! indeed - more of a Huh! at the moment.
Wot? Not heard of nigel molesworth the curse of st custard's, creation of geoffrey willans and ronald searle, every boy should have one, young or old.
After all nigel says boys are Whizz! (except his brother molesworth 2 and fotherington-thomas who are utterly wet and weedy.)

That beings me back to gardens, does it not - weeds, Huh!
Time for tea.