Insect Hotel

Although the mornings are frosty and the puddles are frozen there are still some amazingly hardy flowers that refuse to die back. The snapdragons are particularly colourful and it makes me think that there is a little area of Summer just behind the Nectar Bar where the frost daren’t go. The lavender is still looking good and the scabiosa has been a garden star! Even the little sunflowers are still trying to produce new heads but the bees and butterflies are no longer around to appreciate this effort.

A start has been made to the Insect Hotel – it needs a lot more packing material and the roof is just propped on at the moment but I’ve opened the doors as a little haven to anything with more that four legs!

I’ve already seen some spiders and earwigs (eeek!!) so I hope business will be brisk this Winter. As long as the clients don’t mind some construction work over the next couple of weekends I’m sure they’ll enjoy their stay!

October Bouquets

Once the mists cleared the sun actually shined through and the flowers looked so bright. There are quite a few seed heads now, which have a beauty only suited to Autumn, and the bees are making the most of these rare sunny days.

When I first planted the kitchen Garden in Spring I never imagined that I would still be picking flowers in October… Dahlias, Scabious, Lavender, Cosmos, Rudbekia and Burpleum. I confess that I have probably had more enjoyment from the flowers than the vegetables so I’ll have to rethink the way I use the space next year.

French Lavender

Numerous studies have shown that Lavender helps to reduce stress, anxiety and insomnia. Lavender stops me in my tracks. It makes me crouch down and take  several deep breaths…. and close my eyes. As a stress reliever, it works for me!

After all the rain has come a predicted growth spurt. The Broad Beans are looking good, and with the extra help from staking, they have resisted everything that the weather could throw at them… wind, hail stones, torrential rain, frost and even a bit of sunshine! This only adds to my theory that they will probably taste like weeds but I reserve judgement until I taste my first bean…..

The raised beds are starting to fill out nicely now. I’m trying not to plant too much, too soon for fear of a massive glut (our freezer isn’t very big!). We are still in danger of frosts for a few more weeks so that will keep my enthusiasm in check.

Today remained pretty dry, and despite my cold hands and feet, I thoroughly enjoyed my first weekend in May in the garden. The air temperature was cold but I was surprised how warm the soil felt but I suppose that the raised beds help with this.

As I closed the gate to keep the rabbits out I realised that I was smiling… and had been for a while.