And these bright flowers I love so well,
Verbena, rose and sweet bluebell,
Must droop and die away;
Those thick green leaves, with all their shade
And rustling music, they must fade
And every one decay.
Anne Brontë
What a wonderful summer we have had: there is lots of new growth in the garden, all our new planting is thriving and the roses have been exceptional.
Here we are at the end of September torn in two directions: (A) should we be cutting back and putting the garden to bed for the winter? Or, (B), should we just keep on enjoying the late summer flowers, of which there are plenty?
Well, as usual, we have come to a compromise: the shady bed next to the graveyard is looking tired and in need of work so perhaps some new and more inspired planting there. As next year we shall be commemorating Patrick Brontë and Haworth and also the bicentenary of his curate, Arthur Bell Nicholls, who served Patrick and Haworth for sixteen years, the new planting will honour these two men whom we hold in such high esteem. This last few years we have had so many bicentenaries to celebrate and, in our way, Geoff and I have redesigned three of the smaller flower beds in memory of Charlotte, Branwell and Emily so, continuing this theme, we will have Patrick Brontë and Mr Nicholls in mind as we give this shady bed a new look.
Already we have cut back and cleared the most invasive plants and we will refresh the soil in readiness for the new plants we shall be introducing over the next couple of weeks. Having done that, the other more colourful beds will be cut back as and when the time is right. This autumn we are also planning to build up our bulb stock with view to having a colourful and showy garden in the spring.
I shall be having an operation on my hand in October which means I shall be unable to garden over the next few months. Thankfully, these will be the winter months when we, in any case, tiptoe away and leave the garden to its rest.
Please don’t forget to look after the birds this winter; they bring us so much joy it is heart-breaking to think of them suffering in the harsh winter weather. Have a happy and healthy winter, and don’t forget to call in on the garden at any time.
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