Two Ophelias

Reddish sun and orange sky

The tail-end of Hurricane Ophelia (reduced to a Storm) passed by the UK, mostly affecting Ireland, on Monday; very strange it was too.  Storms here are usually wet and chilly as well as windy, but this one was dry and warm, and it brought dust up from the Sahara and from wildfires in Iberia that turned the sky a peculiar orange-yellow, rather like old-fashioned fluorescent lighting but in daylight.  Apparently the sun, for those who could see it, turned red; when the heavy cloud-cover here parted in early afternoon it was only mildly reddish.  I was set for a day indoors, but in fact the weather wasn't too bad apart from the wind, so I ventured outside and got on with weeding the vegetable patch.  With that and good weather on Tuesday, I cleared and forked over two of my larger beds, and dug out the weeds in the adjacent path so that (assuming I didn't miss any roots) they shouldn't creep into the planting.  One of those beds is going to have the garlic in; I had been thinking of preparing the other for the broad beans but I've decided it's too shady (and rooty) for that. 

Since then the weather has turned murky, misty and wet; another storm, Storm Brian, is due on Saturday with more strong winds.  (Apparently Monday's wind wasn't named here as a Storm since it had been a named hurricane.  I doubt if the Irish will care about the distinction; they're going to get the worst of it again.)  The winds have blown a lot of the autumn leaves away; the ash trees are mostly bare on top already and there haven't been the fine autumn colours that we were hoping for.  The hazel and apple tree leaves are still to fall, as well as those on most of the shrubs, so I should get some leafmould cooking for next year; most of the plum tree leaves are already collected.  There are also a lot of ash leaves on the drive to deal with.

The other Ophelia is the aubergine of that name.  I've had five aubergine plants this year, four of the classic variety 'Bonica' and one 'Ophelia'.  The latter seems tricky to germinate and a bit fussy to grow, and I had wondered whether to bother with her next year, but she produced the best-looking of the aubergines and I think I'll try her again.  The trick seems to be to get them going very early in the year; since I grow them on in the greenhouse rather than outdoors there's no benefit in holding back with sowing.  They also need to be grown in bigger pots.  The plants produced six little fruits, none of which would win prizes for size or beauty but 'Ophelia's was the best of the bunch.  They have now been turned into a little aubergine and tomato stew.  The tomatoes have also been picked, and the plants, and the aubergine plants, are now on the compost heap.  The courgettes are still cropping sporadically so have been left for the moment.  The growbags will be sown with salad leaves, as I did last year, to keep us going over the winter; there are also two small troughs in the greenhouse, one with red mustard and the other with rocket, to provide baby leaves.  There are half-a-dozen little lettuces in modules as well; I need to sow some more.  Some eating apples and three pears are still on the cordons, and the cooking apple tree is producing prolifically as usual (I need to pick a few more apples in advance of the storm to lighten the load on the tree).

Hedychium on the patio

The hedychium (ginger lily) in the patio pot finally flowered; I had been hoping that it would waft its scent across the garden but I fear it wafted in the wrong direction and wasn't really noticeable.  The flowers only lasted a week or so and are now dying back.  The nerine failed to flower well again this year (only three flowers); I've tied the wisteria back more severely to stop it shading the nerines out, and will try to keep the fallen leaves off it next year.  I thought I was providing it with some frost protection but the leaves would have prevented the roots (corms? rhizomes?) from getting enough sun to ripen them.  Also I really ought to feed it more.

Nerines (in vase in greenhouse)

I'm gradually going through the patio pots, repotting things and potting up the spring bulbs.  And the sweet peas have been sown and are germinating in the greenhouse.

Around this time last year I recorded finding a mouse's stash of cotoneaster berries; this year I haven't found the stash, but I have found the mouse (or more probably his descendant) - a rather sweet little fieldmouse hiding under the green wheelie bin.  I had been lopping off some of the cotoneaster branches to stop them from obscuring the view when we reverse the car out of the drive, and a lot of the berries had fallen to the ground.  I hope the mouse enjoyed them.

The sparrowhawk has been through the garden several times; a few woodpigeon tail feathers were left under the peanut container one day, probably the sparrowhawk's work as there was no carcass.  We feared for our lame pigeon Lefty, but I'm pleased to report that he is alive and well and busy feeding two offspring. 

Big things, little things

Elephant garlic cloves

Early October, and it's time to sow broad beans and garlic.  I've been waiting until I can find time to beef up the soil for them, by burying some old garden compost in the beds, with some shredded paper to help water retention in case we have a dry winter.  (Waterlogging is not a problem we suffer from here.)  The garlic bed in particular needs to be well fertilised.  A neighbour and I have entered into an elephant garlic pact: he has given me two massive cloves (each 7.5cm/3 inches long and chunky to boot) and the deal is that, in return, I give him some from my crop next year, so I need to make sure that they grow well!  Reminder to self: water well in winter and spring, and feed in January.  I'll also sow some cloves from this year's store; I got a big crop of very small bulbs (my fault - dry weather and no watering!), so there are plenty to put back in the ground.

The giant apple on the scales

Another Big Thing is the apple that was blown down from the cooking apple tree by the recent winds (the tail-end of a Caribbean hurricane; another is on its way tonight).  684 grammes (over 1lb 8oz) - the biggest apple so far this year.  I've already picked a good few but there are plenty left on the tree.  The birds don't seem to have gone for them so far; a blackbird appears in the garden very occasionally, but I suspect they're all out in the hedgerows enjoying the berries, and the fieldfares haven't arrived yet.  A pair of mistle thrushes were in the big ash tree one day, but neither they nor the woodpeckers appear to have paid the apples a visit.  As for other birds, the swallows and house martins are gone but the willow warbler is still around and occasionally coming to the patio for water; there are also at least three coal tits and a family of long-tailed tits about.  And, as I write, the sparrowhawk has just flown past the window (empty-clawed this time).

Berries in the hedgerows

Back on the subject of Big Things, the dogwood (Cornus sibirica variegata) needs taking in hand.  Last winter I didn't cut it back - latest advice is that it shouldn't be done every year - and as a result it is now a handsome bush but it has really spread beyond its allotted space, smothering a rose ('Mousseline') and in danger of overpowering the peony ('Sarah Bernhardt').  It will be butchered in the old style, ie to the base, come late winter.

Little carrots from the trough

In the greenhouse, the last of the tomatoes are ripening and the little aubergines are ready for picking.  Some rocket and mizuna is germinating in small troughs for winter greens, and the tray of pea shoots is still cropping nicely.  The lettuces have been left in their modules as they're growing well and are safer there than outside in slug-land (the beer traps have only been partially successful; the pak choi is fairly ok, but there has been some slug and flea beetle damage).  Other unwelcome Little Things are the cabbage white caterpillars on the brassicas; I've removed all I could find on the broccoli but one of the kales ('Nero di Toscana') has been well eaten.  However my experiment of growing carrots in a trough in the greenhouse has gone very well; I've just picked some small but beautiful little carrots from there.  They wouldn't win any 'longest carrot' prizes but they'll do very nicely.  That's one thing to try again (I wonder if they'll grow in there in winter....).

Another welcome little thing is the alpine strawberries that are dotted (mostly self-sown) around the place; they're fruiting nicely and providing very tasty little puddings.

The spring bulb order has started to arrive, so I need to get my pots sorted out for planting.  The big pot on the corner of the patio still has the hedychium, tithonia and dahlia combination in there; the tithonias have finally started to flower and the hedychium is just about to.  I hope it gets a move on before the temperatures drop; it needs to be potted up and put in the greenhouse very soon, or it will die of cold!