As darkness falls, it seems we are banished to being nothing more than weekend warriors in the garden....
Not quite, but it sounded dramatic anyway!
It's mostly true though. Now that we are in a period again that it's dark before and after work, there's very little we could do in the garden during the week and most tasks have to wait till the weekend. True that we could always put artificial lights on, or at least carry a flashlight with us along the way but nothing substitutes the illumination bought about by natural daylight. I find judgement better and precision work easier with natural light rather than artificial ones, in the garden a least.
At the moment there is still a small window of opportunity to do some gardening after work with natural daylight still present. But only if I manage to get home on time, and even so I only really have a half an hour or so (an hour tops, if it's not grey and overcast as well) before the sun has truly set and night time has totally crept. And it looks like I'll only have this chance this week, come the weekend we move our clocks back again. We may (falsely) gain an hour extra over the weekend but that would also mean that it's definitely dark already when we get home from work.
But half an hour of productivity is better than having none at all so every evening (bar last night) I have carried on shifting some 'not so hardy' potted plants under cover and indoors to their usual homes for the winter. Little and often soon adds up and avoids a massive mad dash once the biting cold weather finally arrives (which I hope won't be too soon, and if ever, never prolonged).
And so it is, it is the time of the year again when the work shop starts to become lush with ferns...
I started to tidy the 'leafy' greenhouse last Sunday, ready to jam in more 'leafy' plants in it the following days. I started to run out of time this evening and it was fast getting too dark to do such a potentially delicate procedure so only managed bring in a few tonight. This was how dark it was just before I finished...
But of course flash photography helps! I'm sure it's better to see the plants illuminated.
Succulents were the first to be tucked in under cover in the 'spiky' greenhouse, which I mostly did a couple of weekends ago, to give them a longer time to dry out. I've shoved in a few more last weekend and the only ones left outside are the ones that are either hardy (in our garden anyway), to go in the house, or bedding ones treated as annuals and waiting for the first frosts to end their pretty existence (or at least until I tidy them away myself.)
So here we go, the long process of tucking the garden to sleep has well and truly begun. There was an initial forecast of cold weather arriving by the end of the week but that seems to have been lifted off now, or at least it won't be as cold as first predicted. Good as it buys as time. Slow, steady, and stress free, that's the way to go.
Mark :-)
Not quite, but it sounded dramatic anyway!
It's mostly true though. Now that we are in a period again that it's dark before and after work, there's very little we could do in the garden during the week and most tasks have to wait till the weekend. True that we could always put artificial lights on, or at least carry a flashlight with us along the way but nothing substitutes the illumination bought about by natural daylight. I find judgement better and precision work easier with natural light rather than artificial ones, in the garden a least.
At the moment there is still a small window of opportunity to do some gardening after work with natural daylight still present. But only if I manage to get home on time, and even so I only really have a half an hour or so (an hour tops, if it's not grey and overcast as well) before the sun has truly set and night time has totally crept. And it looks like I'll only have this chance this week, come the weekend we move our clocks back again. We may (falsely) gain an hour extra over the weekend but that would also mean that it's definitely dark already when we get home from work.
But half an hour of productivity is better than having none at all so every evening (bar last night) I have carried on shifting some 'not so hardy' potted plants under cover and indoors to their usual homes for the winter. Little and often soon adds up and avoids a massive mad dash once the biting cold weather finally arrives (which I hope won't be too soon, and if ever, never prolonged).
And so it is, it is the time of the year again when the work shop starts to become lush with ferns...
I started to tidy the 'leafy' greenhouse last Sunday, ready to jam in more 'leafy' plants in it the following days. I started to run out of time this evening and it was fast getting too dark to do such a potentially delicate procedure so only managed bring in a few tonight. This was how dark it was just before I finished...
But of course flash photography helps! I'm sure it's better to see the plants illuminated.
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| Ta-dah! There's still lots of space left! |
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| I don't always wait for the first frosts to remove summer beddings, sometimes I do it manually. I ensure I have back ups though, propagated last summer and tucked safely in the greenhouse. |
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| A peek into the spiky greenhouse early in the evening. I wouldn't even try doing anything here in the dark, as you can imagine why. |
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| Ta-dah! Flash photography comes to the rescue! |
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| One thing about succulents is that if you keep them on the dry side, with gentle heating as and when necessary, they remain pristine all year round. And pristine plants are a sight for sore eyes whilst leafy plants tend to look scruffy during the depths of winter. |
Mark :-)
This gardening blog follows our journey as we create our Tropical and Exotic themed garden. We hope you'll enjoy the journey as much as we do. We started our Exotic Garden in 2005 and this site will show its development, as well as our travels, both abroad and within the UK to gardens, nurseries and friends.
You have so much work involved with all your containers. With working it must really be a job getting through it all on weekends. Shows a real love of gardening.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
Hi Cher, when you're in the mood it's amazing how much you can do in a weekend. Shifting pots is part and parcel of exotic gardening too :)
DeleteThis post is a reminder that no matter how much I want winter to stay away, it *will* come, even here in California. The only plants I need to protect are my succulents but their biggest enemy in the winter is too much water so I need to take it seriously. I love how cozy your greenhouses look; I wish I had room for one. Instead, I need to fashion makeshift shelters from transparent tarps that let the light through but keep the rain out.
ReplyDeleteOh winter is coming indeed Gerhard, I've been gradually psyching myself already for it, thinking of way to entertain me during the cold months and not much to do outside. Having a greenhouse certainly is handy, although I wish it could be bigger (one is never satisfied) as there's no walking space there during winter as its jam packed.
DeleteFortunately in your area winter is mild enough that sometimes tarps are all you need to protect some succulents. I remember the blog you did on the winter protection at Ruth Bancroft garden too :)
I hope your plants realise how lucky they are getting snuggly homes for the winter. I don't want to think about driving to and from work in the dark. Yuk! But it's only a couple of months and the days will start to lengthen again.....hurrah!
ReplyDeleteRoll on spring Martin! At least from late December onwards daylight will start lengthening again indeed :)
DeleteI've always thought Daylight Savings Time was counter-intuitive: shortening our days when they are already shortening on their own. Oh well, we work with the days we've got, and your plants look all cozy in their winter retreats. Time for me to get cracking.
ReplyDeleteSame sentiments ricki :) They've been talking about changes to this DST thing for years now, it's about time they get crackin' with bringing in changes to it (or scrapping the DST altogether) soon!
DeleteSo hard to believe I was standing in that spiky greenhouse not too long ago!
ReplyDeleteHow time flies Loree :) There's not much standing room left there now, it's nearly all occupied by spikies!
DeleteHow do you find the succulents grow under the low light in the bubble-wrapped house? I would have thought a lower temperature and more light would be more successful for desert plants?
ReplyDeleteAnd yes its finally getting cooler here too - walked into town for some food and felt the chill in the air!
Hi Ian, the greenhouse is insulated in bubble wrap all year round and it's in a reasonably bright spot that gets winter sun too. The bubble wrap helps in retaining warmth during the colder months, and provides some shade in the summer avoiding scorch. It doesn't seem to impede light penetrating through and so far the succulents permanently kept there continue to do well. Occasionally I wash down/replace the bubble wrap in the summer if it gets sooty especially if we use the paraffin heater (this year we'll use electric frost guard there again, paraffin is too messy and smelly!). A lot of succulents do tolerate lower temps indeed as long as they are in a bright spot and kept on the dry side.
DeleteSo lucky you're able to escape most of the British winter! It may get nippy there too but I bet it's a whole lot sunnier there as well :)
What a challenge! To have a garden like yours, you need almost a double size, one space for winter and one for summer. Clear commitment involved!
ReplyDeleteWe are quite creative in where to place plants in winter and can squeeze lots into a small space, but this time of year is busy getting it all ready.
DeleteYour slow and steady plan is wonderful & I've been trying that this year as well. We all remember those years of running in and out with plants in the wet and dark on the night before the first frost is predicted. Your wintering spots look cozy and orderly.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the frosts will stay away a bit longer although we have a risk over the weekend. We try and jeep the spots nice and cosy for them.
DeleteLol, funny post. Have fun with the move, very lucky plants indeed. Flash is cool, huh? You can use it if your torch dies on a dark path, kinda spooky though.. Best! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks flash can be good fun, and i know what you mean about it being spooky.
DeleteYou are so prepared, I usually just wait until the day before to move the plants which can be a bit stressful. Just a couple more months of shorter days and then they will grow lighter again.
ReplyDeleteI'm am fascinated by your interest in spiky succulents. Having grown up with them I only took notice when of them when I began reading blogs.
Hi Shirley, we try to not move plants under cover unless necessary, just keeping an eye on the forecast. It's not always convenient when the first cold snap arrives and find we have to do things gradually especially on weekdays. I do like spiky succulents but I tend to use them more as accent pieces for the garden and I have to be selective in which one to keep due to lack of space. Nice group of plants :)
DeleteAlways a struggle to find enough indoor space for everything. Read your comment above re paraffin heater - I used to have one and one night it smoked and smothered everything in a fine coating of soot. Grrr. Do you not find the bubble wrap encourages humidity and mould for the succulents? D
ReplyDeleteIt is a delicate balance, the need to keep the plants warm and dry, the advantage of electic heat is its dry. Getting plants dry before the cold weather comes is key to looking after succulents, with only limited watering over winter.
DeleteI envy your greenhouse! It's cold enough for us to build a fire in the fireplace today; suddenly we can feel winter approaching! I have several plants that need to be brought inside and no greenhouse. My husband's office has the best light and will host most of the leafy guests.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a chilly weekend here, we had winds from the north, although we seem to be having a milder spell over the next week or so.
DeleteGreens at your place don't seem to mind the dark, they are so prolific!! I'd love a greenhouse. Still need one here even though it's SPRING! Supposed to be anyway!
ReplyDeleteWe have to be careful which plants go where, so those that will tolerate darker conditions go into the outbuilding - although we do have a grow light in there to assist them through the dark winter days.
DeleteI have been doing the same this past week. I see you have up the polly bubble in your greenhouses. I decided a few years back just to leave it permanently, it lasts five years before becoming brittle and requiring replacing.
ReplyDeleteHi Alistair, we leave it on all the time too. When it gets brittle it can be such a pain to get rid of!
Delete