Their resting period is only a moment in our temperate climate, a speck of time for the plants to gather strength before the cycle starts all over again. And I think to myself, "As I am in the late Autumn period of my own brief moment, should I be gathering strength, by taking my rest, to face the Winter time that surely follows?" We poor morsels are not so well organized as the wonderful trees we plant in our gardens. Perhaps our time is not the quick dash of the annual [well, not for the majority of us] but we live as the perennials, many for years and others a briefer period. And if my span of life can be compared to the perennials in the plant world, then, I decide, I will give all that is possible, for as many years as there will be and face the Winter with as much grace and acceptance in the knowledge that I have done my best. And my thoughts are restful again.
Autumn or Fall is one of the busiest times in our Tasmanian gardens. I like to plant now as the soil is still warm and the plants will be settled in, growing their new roots, before the chill of winter tells them to take it quietly for a while before the grand show of Spring. We also must attempt to end the tenacious hold of the "thugs" in the garden. They really expect too much, growing as they do here, for twelve months of the year. If we run out of time to eradicate all the little brutes, then I have two options. Either I will smother them with a covering of mulch or I will tell myself they are really very pretty and interesting and have as much right as any plant to reside in my garden. It will probably end up a mixture of both options.
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