The chill of winter is already creeping into the house as the days become shorter and we are only in the middle of Autumn. Why is it that when daylight saving finishes the weather seems to know that as far as gardening is concerned it is time to half close the book? I can smell Autumn in the air, even though the leaves have only just begun to think about changing colour. I would not have it in any other way.
There is still much to do in the ornamental garden, dead heads to be cut off the perennials, weeds to get out before settling the garden down with a winter blanket of mulch and splitting up the big clumps of the perennials that have been so generous with their beauty and reproduction through the summer months. The garden at Sandy Bay has been worked for more than one hundred years and the soil is getting very tired. The only remedy is to apply a thick mulch consisting of compost soil mixed with cow or horse manure and this we have done for the past two years. Another answer is to dig up most of the garden and start again and I think that would break my heart.
The Magnolia Denudata is now stretching up to the skies, at least 30 feet above my head, and will cover itself with large, pure white blooms in early spring. For them it is a fleeting moment of glory, for me enough beauty to last a life time. The Magnolia Soulangeana follows immediately, their moment of history lasting longer but not as an opening hymn to the wonder of spring, more as part of the chorus as they are joined by the Cherry blossoms, the Daffodils and the Camellias. The really exciting thing for me, once autumn arrives, is that I now find time to visit the nurseries and plant, my new delights and future dreams, in the still warm soil. The head is full of thoughts of my future garden.
There are two kinds of gardeners, the "good" gardener who paints his picture before entering the treasure troves and knows exactly which kind of plant is needed. This gardener has worked out the height, colour and suitability of the soil and the position where a plant is NEEDED. The other type of gardener, of which I am most definitely a member, is the "greedy" gardener who cannot resist all the wonderful new "goodies" that are offered every year.
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