Cultivating Variety in October
Cultivating Variety in October
What I've been doing, writing and reading for the past month
Phew - where did October go? Wherever it is, it seems to have gone quietly and calmly, with a spell of mild and sunny weather seeing out its final days.
It’s made for some lovely autumnal morning walks and it’s definitely lengthening the season for the dahlias, cosmos and a few other flowers in my garden, including calendula, nasturtiums, rudbeckia and even some cornflowers and borage in the wildflower patch are still blooming.
I’ve also been glad to spend some time volunteering at Hospitalfield again this month, and although the Physic Garden is more or less over for the season, the romantic garden and borders are still looking great with their autumnal hues and standing seedheads. As always, it’s a form of therapy for me to turn up there and spend a peaceful couple of hours in this beautiful place weeding or dividing grasses.
I was lucky enough to spend some time in Portugal at the start of the month, on a family holiday. It’s always a treat to find exotic flowers we don’t see in Britain, such as Angel’s trumpets and hibiscus - but one of the best gardens I saw was an eclectic mix of colour, recycled seaside items and succulents - very striking and probably very low maintenance!
Towards the end of the month I visited Branklyn Garden in Perth for a photography workshop, led by the garden photographer Ray Cox. I really enjoy taking photos of plants and gardens, and was looking for an opportunity to stretch my skills a little - and this is what I got. It was a really helpful, practical session and I took away some great tips on composition and technique. One of the joys of the day was heading out into the garden and really looking at it - for the small details as well as the bigger landscape images. An hour probably wasn’t enough for this, as you can get really caught up in looking at a garden through a lens.
But, without doubt one of the highlights of this month has been simply getting out into the woods during those clear, sunny mornings when the light is really pure and the air isn’t yet so cold that it takes your breath away. I love the light filtering through the branches and the remaining leaves, the geese honking overhead as they fly to their feeding grounds, and listening for the rustle of leaves or the scratching of little feet as the squirrels dart about in the undergrowth or dash up the nearest tree trunk.
These peaceful morning walks really do reset my mind, starting it up creatively and helping me to unravel any niggling problems. I do the same route almost every time I take a morning walk - I’m not really sure why, other than it removes the need to make any decisions or think about anything distracting, allowing my mind to wander because my feet already know the way.
What I’ve been writing…
ICYMI I’ve been writing about a few different late summer/early autumn garden jobs and preparation you can do now for next season:
How to grow more hot colours and encourage hedgehogs into your garden:
How to take softwood cuttings and the joy of easy-to-grow California poppies:
Think about bulbs and biennials now - for a boost of colour next spring:
It’s time for an autumn audit of your garden; and rounding up my fave garden gloves:
What I’ve been reading…
I share A Love of Salvias with
- although I suspect she is much better at identifying them and keeping hers alive year to year… I may have to try her propagation techniques to expand my collection…I enjoyed reading
’s account of the National Poultry Show - I’ve never been to a poultry show, and despite their diva tendencies I’m afraid our gorgeous but scruffy girls would not leave with a rosette, so I really admire the dedication of the breeders who produce beautiful birds for show!Here is a fantastic list of 21 projects for starting a wildlife garden from
- some of these I already do, but there are lots of little tweaks and ideas to adopt, such as finding your wildflower, growing more perennial herbs and using dead wood to create habitats for insects and fungi.Other interesting bits and pieces…
I was pleased to find out that one of my favourite brands, Sarah Raven, has become a B-corp, a status which means it’s meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. The company focuses on UK-grown plants, recycled packaging, sustainable energy and it pays the Living Wage to its employees.
I’m ALREADY quite excited about RHS Chelsea as the first few gardens for 2025 have been unveiled.
Speaking of shows, Gardeners World Live has opened applications for its Beautiful Borders competitions at its 2025 events. The theme is ‘Cultivating Connections’ - very in keeping with this newsletter! Can’t wait to see these too…
Finally - this is the nature themed book I’m reading at the moment: Bob the Robin.
It’s an informative and charming account of gardener and photographer Tony Putman’s relationship with these little birds. It’s a really sweet and easy read, and it’s made it onto my Christmas gift guide list - which I hope to share with you in a future post!
LoVE Hospitalfield so much – this post is making me want to chum you one day!
Thanks for the mention Julianne - salvias are beginning to become quite an obsession