2026/39 - Allotment Maintenance - necessary work

 After months of schlepping water, water and more water, it is finally cool enough to trust the occasional rainshower to provide water for my allotment. I still water the plants in the greenhouse, obviously.

Kruisspin/ Cross spider

   And yes, it is Autumn. This   morning, whilst planning to   mow my grass, I almost   walked straight into this   cobweb. The spider was busy   repairing it, but fled to the   safety of the Buddleia it had   attached its web to.

   

   As long as spiders sit still, I   admire their beauty. As soon   as they start moving, it is   another story entirely... I was   once bitten by a big one and it really hurt, but only for a moment.

   But this one was well behaved.

In between the showers, I did some maintenance. High time too, the grass on my paths was so high that I was afraid my old fashioned hand mower would not be able to get through. But it did, just...

Here you are; it looks much better! That pink Gaura is still doing her best, very sweet. The Hedera on the right is full of flowers too, a real bee magnet.

My tiny orchard is to the right, and most of the apples are on the ground now...I noticed there were no wasps there...quite surprising, as last year there were plenty.

Koolwitje / Cabbage Butterfly Caterpillars

Plenty of these, though! Here they are on the leaves of my summer bulbs (duds! Only leaves and no flowers!). I don't mind them munching my leaves; it is better that they eat my duds, than that they devastate the cabbages of my neighbour.

My garden is filled with Asters/Michealmas Daisies, so cheerful. There are white ones as well, but they are still in bud.

And my Cotoneaster pyramid is suddenly orange. It usually stays that way until the birds get really hungry, and then they pick it clean. It used to be up against an old broad bean fence, which blew over in a gale. So now I have given it a pyramid of three apple branches, which it seems to like.

I cut off the lower branches of my silver Pine a few weeks ago, and it looks much better now that I was able to mow around my tiny Lavender and Erigeron island. I have not finished mowing though...the area next to the fence still has to be done. 

And then the next project is to prune the Elaeagnus again. I do this in Autumn, to keep up the raised canopy. The endeavour is to cloudprune it...so far the bare trunks are nice, but the cloudpruning still looks very amateur. Especially now the branches have grown out so much. Never mind, I'll keep at it.

Those daily rainshowers have had another effect: my plants in the trellis planter on the balcony have suddenly decided to give it one last effort! I have watered them daily during those five (5!!!) heatwaves, and thus kept them alive, but flower? They stopped completely. Just look at them now though.

It reminds me of how nature is very resilient. And that is hopeful. We people make such a mess of things! At least the earth will survive us, I think.

Beneath the Oaks in my street, there is an abundance of toadstools, huge ones, I have never seen them get this large. My son says they are edible, but due to the also huge number of dogs in my neighbourhood, I will not try.

Right. From Puck and me both, I wish you a great week, wherever you are!

Spread the word about me, about both this blog and my writer's website  Renée Grashoff Schrijft

Thanks!

2025/31 - Shades of the subtropics.

 Hello Singapore, hello Mexico!

You are on the other side of the world to me, but we have so much in common 😀 We are gardeners and wildlife lovers.

This morning I entered Hunky Dory at 07.30, through the heavy squeaky gate where the ripening brambles are bearing fruit now.

That early in the morning there is no one there, just the way I like it. The older I get, the less I enjoy the hustle and bustle of crowds. When I was young, I lived in London, and loved it. Hard to imagine now! 

When Puck and I did our early morning walkies at 05.30, we met a roe deer in the small meadow on the rampart. He (it was a male) saw us and froze. Fortunately Puck only scented it, because her eyesight is deteriorating. I so enjoy sightings like that!

But I know that in Singapore people think nothing of seeing families of otters patrolling the streets and parks. That is SO cool! And says a lot about how you treat animals.

The other wildlife I spotted today was a tiny spider (a gewone tandkaak) that was feasting on a dead bumblebee. I cannot imagine it had killed it, probably it was an opportunistic act.

Yesterday I watched Garden Rescue and heard that day-lilies are edible. Really? Frankly I don't dare try...

This is Hemerocallis Crimson Pirate, and I think they are much too lovely to eat!

The Lily in the middle is lovely, but it is the only one that survived the flooding of this bed in 2024.

You know that I adore roses, right, I have told you often enough 😊 The Desdemona and Schneewitchen both are on their second blooming now.

Gorgeous!

This shrub is a Mirte (Myrtus communis) or Myrrha. Apparently those lovely flowers are edible too. This is the first year that it seems happy to be in my garden. Last Summer I though I was losing it, so I pruned it back hard. Perhaps it is the long hot Spring of 2025 that revived it.

The Gaura is doing its best amongst the Crocosmia.

But this one...two years ago I had one flower. Last year I had one flower. This year there's...one flower. Rather disappointing.

That can't be said of the duo above! They have spread themselves all over the garden. The bees love them, so fine by me.

The apples are still rock hard. I'm hoping I can have a good harvest.

Out of an entire packet of seed, I have managed to grow 5 Zinnias. The rest succumbed to the sun and drought in the greenhouse, despite daily watering ... But: those 5 are lovely.

Well, I'll leave you with an overview of the pink/purple bed. Those Cosmea in the middle (not in bloom yet) are hot pink.

I hope you will have a great weekend, wherever you are.

Renée Grashoff