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Jobs for September – Bluebell Woods, Storage Bins and Sowing Seeds
As I’ve mentioned before, I love the changing seasons. However, what I’m not so keen for are the glimpses of winter’s non-growing months on the horizons. With a new garden, utilising a greenhouse for the first time and spending a lot of time outside, I’ve had a blast since we moved. Pottering down the garden path to check on the hens, squash some cabbage-munching caterpillars and deadhead the dahlias has become a happy morning ritual. With winter starting to stir in the distance, there’s that disheartening feeling that there soon won’t be much gardening to have. I still love the winter – especially if it’s properly cost and frosty – but I like growing things!
So, with that ominous feeling on my mind, I’ve set about creating a small task list for the coming months (and fall) so I can keep that green-fingered urge alive.
Planting a bluebell wood
As many readers know, I have big dreams to move to Suffolk and build a house on our family’s farmland. Over the past decade it’s been rented to local farmers, but much of the traditional landscape’s become wild and uncontrolled. Earlier this year I set out to rectify with the Fund It, Sow It, Grow It Wildflower Meadow Campaign. At the beginning of next month, I’m heading back to Brimwood Farm with a band of merry men to scythe down the flower field in preparation for it’s second year of growth in 2016 (and also take some pictures as I haven’t managed to get up there and see how the seed took).
As well as the field maintenance, we’ll be planting a new English bluebell wood in the old chalk quarry. Over the years, it’s been used for a variety of things including a dump, a sheltered lambing spot and for pheasant rearing. There’s quite a copse there, so the plan is to introduce our proper British perfumed bluebell and bring a new and beautiful aspect to this forgotten patch. I’ve got 200 bulbs that, I hope, will multiply over the coming years.
200 English bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) bulbs arrived this morning.
Planting tulips
September’s a great month to plant bulbs. I inherited a lot of tulips with the new house, but they were in the wrong place entirely. I dug them all up and have stored them through the summer. I’ve decided it’ll be best to grow them in terracotta pots that I can dot the path with next spring. It also means I can shift the messy, dying foliage out of the way to keep things looking good.
Forcing bulbs
A few years ago I forced some beautiful paperwhite narcissus to fill the house with scent at Christmas. This year, I want to go a little further and get a load of forced bulbs on the move – not only for home, but for gifts too. Everyone’s so driven by commodities these days that the holiday season has just become an expensive gift-giving enterprise I can’t afford. Buying a DVD or giving vouchers is also so in-personal. I’m increasingly wanting to put some time and effort into creating my own gifts, so some perfumed beautiful flowers during December and January seems perfect.
You need ‘prepared’ bulbs as these have been subjected to an adequate cold spell. It’s also best to buy several bulbs and plant them a week apart as that’ll ensure you’ve got some flowering at the right time. I’m going to try paperwhites and, as I’m not really a fan of gaudy flowers, hyacinth ‘White Pearl.”
Beautiful and Fragrant Narcissus Paperwhite
Cleaning up
I’m going to hold my hands up here and admit; my tool and pot storage leaves A LOT to be desired. I always start off with good intentions, but my attempts normally turn to chaos. I was going to have a pot storage behind the shed, but that’s now become a second coop area for the additional hens. So, instead, I’m debating buying a storage bin like the ones they sell at Tesco – I may as well get some Tesco points on my purchase! The chest ones, in particular, are good for optimising space whilst not becoming an eyesore.
In addition, in this new, grown-up house (am I an adult now?) we actually have a drive-way and that means – THREE huge garbage bins. Though this is great for recycling etc, they are rather an eyesore. My carpentry skills only just managed to create the chicken coop, so I’m thinking a wooden storage bin might be perfect for hiding them away.
Utilising greenhouse space for winter crops
It’s the first year that I’ve had a greenhouse and man, I LOVE it. However, the winter brassicas have now been planted out and the tomatoes and aubergine are on their decline. But I’m desperate now to allow this space to languish between autumn and spring, and am determined to grow some winter veggies so, as well as putting in some onion sets outside, I’m going to sow pak choi and winter lettuce. Hopefully that’ll at least me something to go and look at on those cold, frosty mornings.
Two more fruit trees
I’m really happy with the apple cordon I planted this year, but to maximise the growing space, I’d like to put a plum and pear in too. They’ll both be planted at a 45º angle the same as the apple and should, hopefully, look beautiful in the years to come.
Sowing Seeds
Finally, I really don’t want to go a month without planting any flowers, so I’ll be putting some hardy annuals. These will germinate in the September sun and then sit in the greenhouse through the winter awaiting planting. I’ve also popped in a few calendula and I’ll add some nigella, cornflowers and sweet peas in the coming weeks and months.
Okay – I’ve just looked back at that list and realised I have quite a lot to do! What about you? Any plans for growing in the autumn? Anything I’ve missed? Let me know!
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