September
So suddenly, somehow September is here.
It seems only a few short weeks ago that Spring was knocking on the door, heralding the start of unprecedented rules, regulations and restrictions as the pandemic took hold.
Now, the restrictions are lifting but the uncertainty remains.
Nature and the seasons, however, continue unchanged.
These are sunflower Vanilla Ice, growing profusely on the allotment and signalling a subtle shift in the seasons as summer draws to an end.
It's a busy time of year around here in the Fens. If you venture out onto the local roads, you are bound to meet a tractor with its load of straw. And in the fields, the combine harvesters are at work, sometimes until the light fades, billowing out huge clouds of dust in their wake.
I've been really pleased over the last few months to have lots of flowers for cutting from the allotment. There's always a vase of flowers on the table at home at the moment.
There have been lemony coloured calendula Snow Princess, Zinnias in bright jewel tones, Ammi Majus, the delicate cow parsley look-a-like and lots of self sown Nigella in shades of blue and white.
And these Cafe au lait dahlias, the size of small plates.
I left the dahlias in the ground over winter and they have have grown back stronger than ever.
The sweetcorn I mentioned in previous posts, turned out to be a great success. Mr digandweed and I harvested 6 juicy cobs. They were delicious!
A definite for next year!
The climbing beans Cosse Violette are both beautiful and tasty, but the Purple Dragon carrots have been a big disappointment with just a handful of tiny, albeit delicious, carrots from 3 rows of seeds.
I feel I should have more success growing carrots, living as I do in an area famous for cultivating them, but after several miserable attempts over the years, I have all but given up.
Still there's always next year.... growing veggies teaches patience and optimism!
And in other news, Mr Digandweed and I are looking forward to welcoming another little grandchild to the family at the beginning of November. A sibling for Little F, our not-so-tiny girlie.
Everyone is thrilled!
Hoping all is well with you.
Speak soon
Annie
x
Congratulations , exciting news a new addition to the family. Hope all goes well.
ReplyDeleteThank you. We are all very excited! It’s a difficult time to be pregnant but our daughter is doing really well.
DeleteCongratulations on the new grandchild, how exciting. Your dahlias are gorgeous. I left mine in the ground last year and lost a cafe au lait. The rest were fine though. Carrots are devilish tricky aren't they. I don't usually grow them because of the carrot fly. Lovely to see some shots of your allotment, I do miss mine, especially at this time of year. CJ xx
ReplyDeleteThank you CJ We are all very excited.
DeleteI'm glad I'm not alone with the carrot problem. For such a basic veg they do seem very problematic.
How is it September? Last time I checked it was early March. Love those dahlias! I plonked a supermarket plant in one of the borders here and it disappeared. Slugs, I suspect. And your sunflowers are so cheery. Congratulations to you all. Something very very lovely to look forward to in this strange year.
ReplyDeleteI know.... somehow I blinked and autumn is nearly here.
DeleteWe are very excited about the new baby. I'm looking forward to lots of cuddles - hopefully.
I do feel that summer has somehow passed us by but let’s hope we have a sunny autumn, always my favourite time of year. I have one dahlia in the garden and left it in last year and it has produced twice as many blooms this year. Congratulations on the news of a new grandchild... such a joy
ReplyDeleteIt's looking like September will be a warm and sunny month. We are all very excited about the new arrival.
Delete