Saturday’s Look Back!

Waterford, south-east Ireland. 31st October 2020

We have moved into shorter-days, gardening-rained-off, quagmire-underfoot, leaf-collecting and heavy-pruning season; days to treasure anything which continues to give colour, anything which chooses to perform at this mucky end of the year.

The ground here has become very soft and, unless we get a few days of good drying, grass-cutting has come to an end or, I suppose I should call it by its seasonal name, leaf-collecting with the lawn-mower has come to an end. Our ride-on mower was returned from a service this morning – the drive belt for the blades had broken last week – and getting it from the gate at the bottom of the garden to the shed at the top was a skidding about affair, doing damage to the grass along the way.

Leaf-collecting is the new gym craze (I have heard nobody else say to date) and I spent two hours today, perfectly warm on a cool day, in my T-shirt as I gathered up the latest fall. One side of the garden, chosen by the prevailing wind, always has a heavier layer of leaves and is the most rewarding side in which to rake leaves. Elsewhere, there is that sense of raking air for so long before a decent pile accumulates, a lot of effort for little return and best tackled with the lawnmower – the push-mower is light enough not to do damage to the turf and gives the gardener a good walk as well as collecting the leaves very efficiently.

Leaf raking in The Lane

Elsewhere, I had several heavy pruning sessions this week. A large branch had split on a Gleditsia and had to be taken down while a number of similarly large branches on a crabapple, Malus ‘Golden Hornet’ and on an Ironwood, Parrotia persica, were threatening our telephone line and had to be taken down, a finicky job so as not to break the cable while pruning to protect it for the future. All jobs were successfully completed, to my great relief.

The Lane with pruned branches from Malus ‘Golden Hornet’.

Another item of news: a garden club, of which I am a member, had its first Zoom meeting during the week. A gardener from Wollerton Garden gave a talk on the use of pots in the garden. Technically, it was a success, all going smoothly with about 50 viewers – which of course is far more as most would have been couples. This method of presentation is the best that can be done. It, of course, lacks the social aspect of these club meetings. This club is in Cork, an hour and a half away from us, and we would regularly travel early to do some shopping, to meet our son for a meal or to include some other activity to “make a day of it” but not this time.

Now, let’s have a look at some things which are attractive at the moment. Parthenocissus henryana, a self-clinging climber covers the back and one side of our garage and it would go much further if I didn’t prune back the long growths which are made each year. At this time of the year it gives a wonderful display of vibrant red. The “henryana” of the name, by the way, is for a Dr. Augustine Henry, an Irish doctor who worked in the Imperial Customs Service in China and he can be credited with bringing the riches of the Chinese flora to the attention of the western world. He sent approximately 15,000 herbarium specimens to Kew Gardens as well as 500 plant specimens, which lead to many famous plant hunters being sent to China in search of plants for our gardens. Later in life he co-authored The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland with Henry Elwes. Click to start a slideshow:

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Cornus controversa ‘Variegata’ has reached the end of its season and the final few leaves will certainly be gone in the next few days, perhaps by the end of the day, as strong winds are blowing and should strip it bare. The leaf petioles and veins turn a very attractive pink as the leaves age. The first photographs are from earlier in the year, showing foliage and flower in season. Click to begin a slideshow:

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Primulas, at this time of the year, fall into the category of the “easily-fooled” for the rain of autumn seems to trick some plants into thinking it is spring and they throw up a few stray flowers. They never flower to the same extent as in spring but it is pleasant and interesting to see a few of them out of season. Click to begin a slideshow and to see the names:

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This little maple, an unnamed Acer palmatum cultivar, has coloured so very beautifully over this past week or more. It is growing under a witch-hazel which also colours well and above both, leaning across them is an ironwood, Parrotia persica. Unlike the maple I showed last week, I do prune this one a little as I grow a number of snowdrop varieties underneath it and want to allow access and also be able to see the snowdrops when in flower. Click to start a slideshow:

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Gingko ‘Troll’ is a miniature or slow-growing gingko and seems to have grown only very little since planted here a few years ago. I have read that it may reach and height and width of one metre at full size which is very small when one considers that a normal gingko tree can reach thirty metres in height. Over this past week it must have felt like a film star as I have photographed it everyday to catch the changes in colour. Click to start a slideshow:

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Finally, the lingerers – and not malingerers!, those plants which have held on to a few stray flowers late into the season. They are on their last legs and will either die off or be cut down and put on the compost bin very soon so it is good to show them before they are gone for the season. Click to start a slideshow; each should have a caption with its name:

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I see I have mislabeled that anemone, in the centre on the last line photographs, as Anemone NEMEROSA, ‘Honorine Jobert’ when it should be Anemone JAPONICA, ‘Honorine Jobert’. Sorry about that! And, well spotted, Kathy!

I’m sharing this blog with a group of fellow bloggers who contribute to a “Six on Saturday” theme which is hosted by “The Propagator” on his blog site. To read more contributors to the Six on Saturday theme go to The Propagator’s entry for today, scroll down to the comments and you will find other bloggers have posted links to their Saturday entries there. Lots to read