Preparing the Garden for Winter
After the storm the garden was in a sorry mess and it took me all of two days to tidy up the debris and prepare for winter. All the Busy Lizzie's were turned into a black pulp and were quickly consigned to the compost heap. The soil from the containers was stored in a pile behind the greenhouse for recycling next spring. All the pots and tubs were carefully examined for Vine Weevil and their larvae. The hanging baskets containing the Surfinia's were looking a little sorry for themselves and had to be removed, while those with the Million Bells were in pristine condition and undamaged by the wind. I did not have the heart to consign them to the compost heap, so they will get a few more weeks grace. I have changed my mind about the small flowered petunias, come rain or shine they continued to flower, and while not as spectacular as the larger flowered Surfinia's, they seem to have more staying power. Even without the flowers they cover the basket with a beautiful blanket of small green foliage, and trail for as much as eighteen inches. I intend to leave a few hanging out all winter to see how they perform. Technically they are perennials, although not frost hardy, and if we get a mild winter as we usually do; I have every confidence they will survive.
The Baskets with the Swingtime Fuchsias that I planted up for a late display is in its prime now and not bothered by the weather. The daily task of removing the seed pods to ensure a continuous succession of flowers, is not a job that I am overly fond of at this time of year.
The Diascias have all but finished flowering now, so I brought the baskets that were hanging on the potting shed to the front of the house where they will enjoy the winter sunshine. A basket with Calceolaria Sunshine and Campanula White Clips is still showing quite a few flowers and it was also moved to the front of the house. So in spite of the storm I still have 8 baskets with flowers.
I am not planting any winter flowering pansies this year as I find that they do not like the wind, and I get just as good a display by planting them in March.
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