| Nineteenth edition - November 2002
 What a difference a few weeks makes.. Biting wind, rain, fog,
frosts, and for those of you who live in the most northerly part of our island, the first
snowfalls of the winter. My husband reminds me it is only just over four weeks since we
had a picnic in the shade to keep cool! The cold damp weather does have the effect of
making one want to stay indoors in the warm and partly because of this, I am reluctant to
go outside and cut down all the plants that are still flowering their heads off. The
garden remains a riot of colour, with perfect Delphiniums in full bloom along with a host
of other out-of-season flowers. Things will get tucked up for winter, just a
little later than normal.
As you pull out the bedding plants that are finished, re-plant with
wallflowers, Sweet William, polyanthus and pansies.
One job I will never neglect - I know I keep on about it - is the
sweeping up of leaves on an almost daily basis. Once left to gather in piles, they will
form a slippery mass which will be so dangerous for unsuspecting older bones. We
don`t bounce like we did when we were younger and can easily break an ankle, or worse a
hip..
If you have a graphics programme on your computer, and a scanner,
consider making Christmas cards from favourite photos, and don`t forget to start setting
aside dried flowers, grasses and twigs ready for making your own Christmas decorations.
They will spray beautifully and keep for ages if previously dried...
Another Autumn job is checking that all the garden furniture is put away
securely in your shed. Check the padlock too, because burglars like to do their christmas
shopping about now, and garden sheds are considered fair game.
Finally, do some troubleshooting with a quick check on the trees,
boundary walls and fences, roof tiles etc., just to ensure they will all endure any
possible strong winds. Don`t forget to turn the water supply to your hosepipe off..
There are some lovely things to buy as usual in the latest Thompson & Morgan catalogue and I am busy
choosing some seeds for next year. I don`t buy too many seeds as I save most of mine from
the current year`s flowers, but after a few years, often the stock will need renewing, as
the plants may start to produce weak, infertile and often empty seed pods. I wrote about harvesting and storing seed in
September. For the last two years the seeds I have saved from my red Castor Oil plants,
have produced inferior plants, so this year I shall buy new seeds. Also I like to grow
something new each year.. Thompson & Morgan usually do a Christmas gift offer and this
year it is a basket of traditional scented hyacinths, delivered boxed and with a personal
message for the recipient. All this for only £5.99 when you place an order from their
2003 catalogue - that`s no hardship!
Keep the e-mails with
your gardening problems coming
Some websites of interest to gardeners:-
www.alantitchmarsh.co.uk
Alan Titchmarsh MBE, TV gardener, writer, broadcaster and thoroughly nice person.
Just a few choice words to describe the peoples` favourite TV gardener. See his
website....
 Thompson and Morgan:
A growing
resource for gardeners worldwide. The site includes the international online seed
catalogues, the young plants catalogue (UK only), the wholesale seeds catalogue, together
with the award winning Germination Times and a host of other useful information.
www.carryongardening.co.uk
 Gardening is an important part of many people's lives. You don't have to
give up gardening because of accident or illness, the onset of disability or the problems
associated with growing older. The information on their website is designed to provide you
with the information to Carry on Gardening.
Carry on
Gardening was initiated by the horticultural charity Thrive
and is funded by the National Lottery Charities
Board. It brings together information on easy ways of gardening gathered over 23
years by Thrive and research carried out since the early 1970s by Mary Marlborough Centre,
Oxford, on tools and equipment for disabled and older people.
www.edenproject.com 
The
living theatre of plants and people
The Eden Project is a gateway into the world of plants and people. A meeting place for
all to discover how we depend on plants and how we can help to manage and conserve them
for our mutual survival.
The founder
of www.maple-landscapes.com
is my eldest son.. give him a call if you live in the Leicester area of the UK and have
need of his services..
Good reading:-
"The Yellow Book" contains information of
all Gardens of England and Wales open for charity, and can be bought priced £5 from
National Gardens Scheme www.ngs.org.uk
National Trust Gardens Handbook is £6.99 and
the new edition is out in May Telephone 01394 389 950 or see their website www.nationaltrust.org.uk
RHS Garden Finder is £12.99 from Dorling
Kindersley www.dk.com
Have a look at previous
editions of Gardener`s Diary
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