Falls well that ends well

For me autumn starts in August: when schools go back, Edinburgh festival goers lurk in the city streets proclaiming about the warm 'summer' weather and yet, towards the end of the month there starts to be a chill in the air in the mornings. I think that by starting autumn early, Scotland does autumn really well. It's a tranistional season, meandering from the warm sunny days into the cooler and longer nights; you can start to appreciate the sunshine, not only for its heat [yes! even in Scotland] but for the light. There are spectacular sunrises and gorgeous sunsets, which [in the urban areas] cast a stunning backdrop to the silhouetted kirk towers and church spires [Left: Clerk Street, Edinburgh].

This year, as the summer started early, the gradation between summer and autumn has been even more muted than usual. Although the warm and dry summer was most pleasant - many plants failed in the drought. It wasn't official, but anyone with a couple of brain cells could see that if the country's reservoirs were drying up, it probably wasn't a priority to water your begonias. A some-what passive-aggressive sign materialised in our allotment noticeboard advising us that:

"Water isn't free

Running a hose for 10 minutes uses more water than an average household uses in a day

You are also wasting the energy used to purify it for drinking standards

Think about it"

I'm not entirely sure where this upset person got their statistics from. Arguably the water that the 'average household' uses to wash their car, do their dishes, have a shower, run the washing machine are also 'wasting the energy used to purify it for drinking standards' - no?

If the gist of the complaint was more along the lines of 'stop watering non-essentials, water is only for edible consumables' then that would be more reasonable. The majority of people have allotments to grow vegetables. Vegetables are by default 80% + water [according to the Food Studies Institute]. Perhaps instead we should consider growing more drought resistant varieties and focus on more efficient watering techniques: for example watering early in the morning or evening [out of the heat of the day] and ensuring that the stream of water is actually directed at the soil [watering the leaves in the heat of the day can cause more damage than good]. Constructive advise is needed, not petulant notes from small minded individuals who can't be bothered to check their maths. I've been meaning to print something out in way of a counter arguement - but I've been struggling to get the right nuance; it seems to have been taken down now anyway.

It's swings and roundabouts really - when the weather is really dry, the grass in the 'lawn' is the first to go yellow. This makes sense when you think about it - as typically grass [or at least the mix of species which constitues 'lawn grass'] has very short roots, compared to say trees, shrubs or native perennial plants. So when the grass dries up, it creates pockets of space for other plants to move in. Our back lawn grows two things really well - grass in the summer and moss in the winter. Circa 2023 I started three clover patches [see 'Foxes, Fermentation & Fowl'], to if not create a clover lawn, then at least create a bit more diversity. While unfortunately the crimson clover only really lasted a year; the red and white clover have been much more successful. What the red is achiving in height, the white is achiving in spread...particularly over the patio...

Curiously, despite the lack of rain, it has been an excellent year for berries: we picked a couple of kilos from our blackberry bush over the course of a couple of weeks [ones which the birds left us]; and the pyracantha 'hedge' has been seriously outdoing itself.

There's no doubt about it, flowering plants have been coping much better in the autumn period than the summer. Our lovely pink hydrangea appeared almost bleached - either by the direct sun or lack of water; although when the rains returned it turned a really gorgeous dusky pink colour, see right [actually much nicer than the usual colour].

Plants which have been flowering, either erratically or consistently throughout the autumn months in both front and back gardens include [below, from top left clockwise]: Nasturtium - 'Empress of India' (Tropaeolum majus), Fox and cubs (Pilosella aurantiaca), Califorian Poppy (Eschscholzia california), Hawkweed (Hieracium sp.), Jasmine, Autumn crocus, Clematis Montana, Red Campion, Cyclamen, Yarrow, Cosmos and Borage.

I gave Errol's* bed a good clear out, as the michaelmas daisies (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii) were begining to enroach. They are great for pollinators so I tend to leave them in, but they have a tendency to spread [thanks to their wind-dispersing seeds] - to be honest I'm not even sure where they came from as I'm pretty sure I didn't plant them. I repotted a bamboo - always a good idea if you don't know what variety they are, some are 'clumping' and tend to stay where you put them; whilst others are 'running' and will attempt to take over your neighbours garden. Now he looks a bit more thematically planted!

*Note: Errol is the lizard-shaped Chinese Lantern - originally part of the set from Edinburgh Zoo's Giant Lantern Dinosaur display in 2019/20. At the end of the festive display staff members could bid to take home some of the smaller pieces. I got this one now known as Errol [Terry Pratchett reference] and brought him home on the bus, to confusion of many passengers. Timeline of relocation below:

[L to R: @ Edinburgh Zoo in the camellia bed; in the flat; in-situ and planting up; present day]

Now that the soil has become damper, I was able to move the broom bushes into their final location. The soil was so dry earlier in the year that I didn't want to disturb the roots, particularly when they were in flower. Spot the ever so subtle difference below....

This area has come on really well, with the majority of the seeds sprouting [those that weren't shivvied out of the way by dust-bathing sparrows]. I'm really excited to see what flowers next year.

Amongst the mosses in the back lawn, troops [this is the correct collective noun] of mushrooms have moved in. Initially I partially blamed the compost, as some appeared in a flower bed; but they have since invaded and colonised a small portion of the lawn as well as on the feeding stump. Not sure what variety they are but possibly the large white ones could be field mushrooms...but something is eating them nonetheless...

Our Japanese maple muppet by the front door turned a really gorgeous orange-red colour this year and fortunately, thanks to the lack of frosts and strong winds, actually kept its leaves for more than a few days.

So the garden seems to have recovered from the past year...now it just has to cope with winter....