Preparing the garden for winter - part 1

Remember the sunflowers seeds that N planted some time ago?  Well, when we returned from our holiday we were thrilled to see this:

They finally flowered!  I kept reassuring N that we just needed to be patient with them, and they have done us proud.  Next year we will make sure we plant sunflower seeds in good time.

We made the most of a dry day and spent the morning in the garden, tidying up and preparing the garden for winter.  I cleared the antirhinums (snap-dragons), cut the veronicas back again and continued deadheading the coreopsis.   N cleared out the lettuce bed, and moved the cage onto one of the other beds.  The beans have come down - we have decided not to try purple beans again, instead we will start with fresh green bean seeds and hope for a better crop than this year.  N has cleared out the greenhouse pots (tomatoes and herbs) and washed down the greenhouse floor.  A trip to the tip tomorrow and then we will see what else needs doing.  

The last few lettuce plants bolted while we were away.  We are going to try composting them in a black plastic bag, and use the resulting 'muck' as organic fertiliser.  It's an experiment.

We need to get one of the raised beds dug over and prepared for the winter crops we ordered at the nursery.  We don't usually do winter crops so it will be interesting to see how they fare.

The pyracantha on the back fence has a good crop of orange/red berries this autumn.  We don't have that many shrubs in the garden, and this one has been struggling to really establish and flourish, even after 3 or 4 years, so I was quite pleased at this show of berries.  The narrow border it is growing in has poor soil which dries out quickly and it's a constant battle with bindweed and bay-tree suckers from next door.  That the pyracantha survives at all is a bonus.

We had a little visitor in the garden; a robin, cheeky as you like, hopped around the freshly dug beds on the look-out for tasty morsels.  He was just a few feet away from us, quite unperturbed by all the activity going on around him.  Not at all camera shy.

There's still a lot to do in the garden but at least we've made a start.  We have both really enjoyed seeing how our little plot has grown through the year, and even though we're preparing for winter, we will still be growing veggies (hopefully!) and planning for next year.  It's a process that has helped us slow down and appreciate the seasons far more.

I returned to the dentist this afternoon and now have super clean teeth.  I will admit to being a bit of a wimp when it comes to dental treatment, especially when it involves injections; I think it may date back to some unpleasant experiences as a young child, but, as N and I have both tried to persuade ourselves, dentistry has moved on light-years since then.  Now it's all about healthy gums so we have both been instructed on the art of flossing correctly, and have a selection of colour-coded mini-brushes to tackle those hard-to-get-to nooks and crannies ;)  My teeth don't know what's hit them.

I'm still working flat out on the 'big project', but there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the days at the moment.  I'm making progress, just not quite quickly enough.  It's a case of simply doing what I can, when I can.  All will be revealed after the weekend.