Sunday, November 14, 2010

Last Rose of Summer

 This rose was given to me over 16 years ago by a friend that is sadly, no longer with us. It's a robust thing and though it only gives us two or three flowers per year, I keep it.  The flowers are beautiful when they show up and I always think of my friend Ettie.
uncared for tomatoes
It is now mid-November and the garden is a mess!  It was so tidy all spring and into the summer.  Things fell apart in July when I started the "bad job".  I left the house at about 07.30 each  morning and wouldn't get home until after six.  Sometimes I got home later still if there were things that needed to be done.  In any case, life at home started to suffer.  I wasn't here to do all the lovely things I had been doing up until then.  The garden suffered the most.
Broccoli left to go to seed

former pea nets and canes
 It wasn't looking too bad when my sister and her family visited in August. We harvested the peas while she was here. But now, in November when I have done nothing but ignore it, it looks BAD.
beans have gone to seed on the canes
 There are still some beans flapping in the breeze.  A few canes that were there for support are still standing.  At some point, I will take the canes down, wipe them off and put them in the greenhouse.   They'll last longer in there, out of the weather.
old cabbages - the ones that the caterpillars didn't eat
Poor old cabbages.  They look like skulls.  The only thing that is salvageable at this point are the leeks.  They can stay in until I am ready to use them.   

I'm not making any promises, but if we get a dry spell, I'll tidy this patch up and cover it with black plastic until spring. 

I was a mildly non-lazy gardener up until July but rest assured, I'm back on form now.  :-)