October
The garden needs a lot of work, this time of year! We need to prune and cut back now, before winter sets in. The Elder is gigantic and hangs over the fence with our neighbors, especially when it is heavy from the rain. But also the Raspberry, Firethor and Grape should be pruned.
We are late with planting the bulbs, they have to go in really quickly. We sweep almost every day because many shrubs lose their leaves. We scatter the fallen leaves over the earth, a nice warm blanket for when it gets cold later in the year. But first we are fertilizing the garden soil, using organic fertilizer of course.
The raspberries are cut to the bottom.
The strawberries still have many flowers, but no longer bear fruit.
The tiny Winter Cyclamen are already blooming.
The herbs are doing really well, the Sage grows out of the box!
Insects eat the zucchini flowers with a relish.
There are Snowberries in abundance!
The Currant Tree is now completely in Autumn colours.
The Dwarf Medlar's berries are an orangy red now,
November
It's early November, but if you look at the strawberries you would not believe it. The flowers keep coming, the fruits probably not anymore. The small cutting of the East Indian cherry that we received as a gift is doing great, but unfortunately no flowers this year. But we will wait patiently until next year.
What also still blooms beautifully is the pink climbing rose that is against the shed. Even on gloomy days, the florets are beautiful. The pine tree grows like weeds and brand new twigs grow on each branch.
We bought hardy violets to brighten up the late autumn garden. We put them in pots because if it happens to be a harsh winter, they can overwinter in the shed. Because hardy for plants does not mean that they can withstand severe frost for days, but that they do not necessarily have to be in the warm sunshine. They can handle colder weather, but severe frost is a step too far!
The currant tree has now lost all its leaves, only a few weeks ago it had the most beautiful autumn colours. The tree has many crossing branches, so we prune away what is too much before any night frost occurs. The cutting is already done, but there is still some sawing off to be done. ;))
December 2022
It's suddenly a lot colder outside so we quickly take care of the birds! We hang bird peanut butter in the small birdhouse. We string peanuts and put out wild-birdseed. Early in the morning, when everyone is still in bed, we hear all the chattering and arguing of the jackdaws. They all have their eyes on the price, the delicious peanuts, but there's always one who's in charge of the others!
December is here and the mild weather is over! The wind howls around the house, it is an average of 3°C during the day, but in the garden we still see many yellow leaves. On the other side, in the front garden, the Holly has berries. The garden furniture needs to go indoors swiftly!
In the front garden, the little leaves of the (never-blooming) Cardinal's Hat (or Euonymus) have turned a beautiful red, those of the Wisteria are yellow. The holly is dark green all year round, so beautiful with the red berries!
But then December gets really cold, it freezes and the pavement is very slippery! There is plenty of skating on the canals, so fun to watch! In the garden everything is white with frost. Beautiful, the winter garden!
Let's close the year in our garden with a wise observation ;)) Whatever the season, there is always something beautiful to see in a garden.