Anyone with trees in or surrounding their garden will know that leaf collecting time is upon us. Here at Reveley we gather the leaves in a loose stack which is added to until all the years leaves have fallen and then occasionally re-piled (is that a word ?) during the following year as they rot down. This heap is usually ready to use as a mulch after 3 years. By then the heap resembles a solid ‘cake’ which is broken up spread on the top of the borders and the worms do the rest. The only downside is the birds do tend to chuck it back on the grass and paths and we have 3 massive piles of leaves somewhere in the garden.
We are lucky enough to have several largish trees that usually colour well and along with late flowering herbaceous plants and shrubs with coloured stems or berries, on a bright sunny autumn day the garden positively glows. I try hard to start preparations for any new or replanting areas as the soil is warm and any new plantings will be watered in and settled in by the time the winter really begins, a good intention that doesn’t always happen.
October is also a favourite month for me as it’s usually when I can take a holiday as the watering becomes less onerous, and so hopefully add another botanic garden to the visited list and another grape variety to the wine list. For those under 50 reading this the title is a Kinks song.
October 2014
