So this is autumn is it?

I like to plant some spring flowering bulbs every autumn but this year was the first time I did so wearing a sunhat. 

Before we went away on holiday Doc put away the garden furniture.  Some of the pots of marigolds were passed their best so I tossed them onto the compost heap and generally started to tidy up.  I wondered if it would be sunny enough to ripen the remaining tomatoes in the greenhouse and I was sure that the sweet peppers and cucumbers would succumb to cold night temperatures.  How wrong I was!

We returned home to find that the greenhouse was a mass of bright red tomatoes and there were new flowers on a couple of the plants.  Even the cucumbers had greened up and were fruiting again.  All the signs of mildew had disappeared and they are happily heading for the roof space.  The marigolds have joined in the fun too and have sprouted new buds.  For several days it was not just hot, but scorching hot and yet I was planting narcissi and picking up fallen apples.

I like the ritual of bulb planting.  They are such good value and are some of the first plants to emerge after the winter.  When I spot the first leaves pushing their way up through the cold earth into the light, I know spring has sprung.  Bulbs are a good investment and it is easy to build up a substantial collection over the years.

This year I have only planted shorter narcissi because Springfield is windy and some varieties flop over which irritates me.  You cannot go wrong with Tete -a -Tete and I heard someone say that theirs were over 40 years old and are still just as good.  I also like scented varieties too but you have to plant those where you can get your nose into them.

I don’t plant tulips in the ground.  They don’t perform as well as daffs in our garden - perhaps it is the winter wet.  I like to plant some in tubs to brighten up the front and back doorsteps.  A good tip is to plant them in layers in large containers to achieve a really showy display and sticking to one colour always look the more dramatic.  When the tulips have finished flowering I move them to somewhere out of the way to rest.

In a large garden it is a good tip to add focal interest on the routes you often walk.   I will place pots of narcissi and tulips by the garage door so that I can look at them when I pop to fetch a pumpkin or some onions.  I also have a pot or two by the compost heap because I regularly take the kitchen veg scraps down there.

I am also growing on some plug plants of pansies to liven up the cold, grey months.  I fell out of love with them for a few years because I was bored with the same old colours and one or two batches proved to be very poor quality.  However, this year they are back and I have chosen a contemporary colour scheme of orange, black and white. 

The hot sunny weather could not last of course and it is now considerably cooler.  But we made the most of it and enjoyed some lovely barbecues, sitting out until quite late into the evening.   This felt very odd because we did not do this even in the summer!   I am sure this bonus warmth and sunshine will help to make the winter seem a little shorter.  I don’t seem to mind that the lettuces have bolted.