Looking back at October.

If you are a regular reader of our blog you have probably noticed that it has been a while since we posted anything. Half of the family has Swedish roots and has spent some time visiting the old country recently. It was fun to visit family and friends and go for walks in the beautiful Swedish forests. On the way back we spent some time in the airport departure lounge and found it quite creepy. The three of us were reading books and talking to each other but all around us there was an eerie silence. As we looked around every single person we could see was staring at a screen of some sort in complete silence. Not a single person smiled. No one seemed excited to be visiting another country. No couples were holding hands or even looking at each other. No parents were talking to their children. How did it get to this?  After that experience it felt great to get back home and throw ourselves into the work of finishing the last bits on the extension so we can move in. It will only be a couple of weeks now.

We always write a bit each month about what has been going on in the garden and October proved to be quite pleasant. We had some warm sunny days and were able to harvest peas, kale, potatoes and herbs. Our Swiss spearmint has grown as high as a person this year.

Many of the perennials and shrubs were confused by the unusually warm weather and put on new growth and flowers. We actually hope it will get colder soon so the plants can rest and get the cold spell that they need. Apples for instance cannot give a good crop next year if they have not been subject to this.

The autumn colours have not been as pronounced as other years in the garden but a few of our plants have put on a decent show. We particularly enjoyed the blueberry, aronia and the liquid amber.

In our circle plants are starting to slow down and wither. We will leave a lot of the seed heads there and clean the beds up in the spring, to benefit wildlife. The teasels are full of seeds and we are hoping the bull finches from down the road will come into our garden to feast on them. We have gold finches every year and they love teasels as well.   Every month we take pictures of the circle in the four cardinal directions. All of these posts can be found in the category; Elemental circle.

East

South

West

North

Two years ago we planted cyclamen and they have established themselves now and looked lovely in October around our yard tree. They look very delicate but can withstand both cold and rain. We are looking forward to the darker and colder season now as there is a lot of clearing, weeding and planting to do after the busy year we have had building our extension. As the growth rate slows down we should be able to get stuck into it all. Welcome November!