This is the time of year when I have a little more time to enjoy my homegrown efforts with warming soup, roasted root vegetables and apple crumbles all made from ingredients from the garden. (I am hopeless at cooking – but love my food).
British Summer Time went back an hour at the end of last month and it is dark as I write this. In a few weeks time it will be too dark to garden outside by 4.30pm. As I write our tender plants are all protected in the house or greenhouse, leafy perennials have been cut back, the garden furniture has been brought in and the Red Poll cattle will soon be in their winter quarters back at the farm.
But there is planting to be done. November is the ideal month for planting trees, hedges, shrubs and perennials. And it is the perfect time to plant tulips whether in pots or in the ground. This autumn we have 8,750 to plant – mostly tulips but we also have daffodils, camassias, alliums, snakes-head fritillaries and triteleias to add to our spring displays. It should look glorious early next year.
But the thing that has given me so much joy this morning are cobwebs. We have four large box balls growing in our courtyard. They were planted in 1997 and although kept tightly clipped (we cut them in July) they have steadily grown bigger. This morning these box balls were strung with lots of cobwebs covering their surface and also strung between them. It was a morning heavy with dew, the air had a chill with a touch of mist and yet when the sun started to burn through, the cobwebs sparkled and glowed. It was a magical moment.
Kate Elliott came to Columbine Hall in 1997 when she was sixteen. She is now head gardener but also helps with managing the property generally and in conducting guided tours.