FIRST FROST

Saturday - there was a light frost last night and the nasturtiums are much the worse for wear. However the skies are clear and the gales have stopped. They brought down a lot of twigs in the wood.

I have been out and dug up the pink Japanese anemone - two wheelbarrows full - and still have not got it all out where its roots are intertwined with other plants. Planted six agapanthus in its place - three white and three blue to add to the ones we already have. They remind me of Auckland in NZ. Then two loads of well rotted horse manure to top up the soil.

The thingy I hang my bird feeders on outside the kitchen window has rusted through and fallen over. I have taken it down and must think what to do. There are still plenty of other feeders around the house.

R is out doing her church craft fair to raise a bit of dosh and I forgot to prepare some plants for sale. After we had got the room ready I came back and potted up 5 rosemarys and a couple of eleagnus x ebbingei "Limelight". The latter take ages to root well from cuttings. Then I popped back with them. They had a few jars of the Summer Fruits and Blackcurrant jam too. The latter is good but the former seems, surprisingly, to nor taste much other than sweetness.

R always laughs when I say pop over here, up there etc. A doctor thing - "Just pop up on the couch . . ." 

It is now Sunday and the sun is out and so are there rabbits - three sitting, fat and lazy, on the upper banking grooming themselves.

We are steadily clearing away a year's growth gone over. This involves the odd wheel barrow full of stuff. I would use the sit-on mower and trailer but the garden is far to wet.

However some plants are thriving. This is the smaller of two Fatsias we have, both flowering abundantly as winter approaches. The big one will have to be cut back.

There are still roses in the garden like this one given to us by A and P. It clambers over my shed and flowers almost all the time. I just have to keep dead-heading it. We will have roses for Christmas unless we get a severe cold spell before then.

The winter spinach is looking good - goes a bit limp when frosted but recovers. It does wonders for regularity if you know what I mean.

I have another go at the pond and a bit drained out from under the liner. I am sure that the problem, atlas in part, stems from water getting in under the liner from by the inlet pipe above it. I have cut off the water flow and redirected it all down the stream. We will see if it does any good.

My friend S is in Spain - Mijas - and the pics make it look so warm and sunny. He will get a shock when he comes back to our balmy barmy climate as will N from California.

Monday - it is raining again, the grey squirrel is eating the peanuts, the moorhen is back, is gone, is back, the pond liner has sunk a bit again, it is cold and there was a sharp frost this morning, still waiting for my manure.