Harvest time!

There’s a real autumnal feel to the garden at the moment.   It’s a shame to lose the lovely long evenings but the light in the garden is now more golden and soft – and thankfully it’s a good deal cooler!      I love autumn so let’s hope the colours will be long lasting this year.

Yellow is a good colour in the flower beds at the moment with Rudbeckia goldsturm and Rudbeckia laciniata both in flower.    Perennial helianthus Lemon Queen is in a couple of borders and flowering but not as prolifically as in previous years – maybe a job later on will be to divide and replant.   Another perennial helianthus, whose name I don’t know, is looking very colourful and spreading through an entire flower bed but it’s days are numbered!   I’ve spent two winters digging out every bit of root I can find and burning them and still it returns.   This year the entire flower bed is going to be emptied, dug and turfed over!     All the ‘well behaved’ plants are going to find new homes throughout the garden and I can only hope that constant mowing of the new turf will finally get rid of the ‘nuisance’ plant.   There is a lesson to be learnt here.   This helianthus was bought at a plant sale in a 3″ pot, just a single stem, for £1 and with no variety name.   The lady on the stall looked very relieved as I bought it and took it away, now I know why!      I’m not even tempted to pot it up and sell it at my local Country Market.    I couldn’t inflict it on an unsuspecting customer!  I don’t think it can be a rare plant!    I must say though that at the same plant sale all those years ago I bought a very nice evening primrose which turns out to be Oenothera fruticosa Fireworks.   That spreads but in a more controlled fashion and so far hasn’t outstayed its welcome.

However harvesting of fruit has started and that is the most exciting job at the moment.  We’ve had the first ever crop of plums from the “Purple Pershore” tree.   It’s a very small tree and was absolutely laden with fruit and unbelievably there was no damage to fruit from either birds or wasps,  the fruit was absolutely perfect.    Tasted good too!   Most of that crop is now in the freezer so we can enjoy it through the winter.    We’ve now moved onto the apple trees.    It’s a bit early yet but the Worcester Pearmain tree has borne a heavy crop this year which are now ripe, picked and being eaten. (Photograph shows tree ‘half picked’ – forgot camera!) These apples are so tasty and have a lovely scent.  Even better as we are in Worcestershire to grow a ‘local’ apple.    We only have a few apple trees but have managed to  include Pitmaston Pine Apple which also has links to Worcester.   These fruits are quite small, again though there is a heavy crop and even if we don’t like the taste they will end up as juice or possibly go into the home made cider later on.