October — An In-Between Time

The garden hasn't quite decided what season it is.

October has arrived, but summer is still hanging on in places. In the polytunnel, gourds and tomatoes are ripening, basil is going to seed and, whenever the sun breaks through the cloud, the air can still feel surprisingly warm.

Yet there is another feeling underfoot. Recent rain has brought a new moistness to the garden, rising from ground that only recently seemed so dry. Leaves are beginning to turn, plants are dying back and seeds are being scattered, while the first signs of next year's growth are already appearing.

It's that wonderfully unsettled moment when one garden year is beginning to fade just as the next one quietly gets underway.

And there is plenty happening at the Garden Gate.

Nine months of flowers

Our cut flower service has now been running for nine months — and it has been a tremendous success.

A huge thank you to everyone who has ordered flowers, supported the service and helped us get it off the ground. Flowers grown at the Garden Gate have found their way into homes, celebrations and special occasions, while the service itself has helped support the work of the project.

The dahlia beds are still producing blooms every day, so we're continuing to cut while the plants keep flowering.

Once the first hard frost arrives, however, we'll cut the dahlias down and give the beds a heavy mulch. Rather than lifting, storing and replanting the tubers every year, we're planning to leave them in the ground for another year. It should reduce a considerable amount of work while allowing the plants to get on with producing next year's flowers.

For now, though, there are still plenty of flowers to enjoy.

Seeds for another season

Elsewhere, plants are beginning to die back and set seed — and some are doing the job entirely by themselves.

Larkspur and antirrhinums have already self-sown around the garden. There is something particularly satisfying about seeing plants doing the work of propagation for us.

Self-sown seedlings can often establish particularly well because they germinate in the conditions where they are going to grow. They can then be thinned out later, giving the strongest plants enough space to develop properly.

Rachel is also looking ahead, sowing hardy annuals including clary sage and more Ammi. Cornflowers and nigella have already come up.

Ammi is particularly useful for our cut flower work. Its delicate, airy flower heads provide the kind of flat-topped filler that can add lightness and movement to an arrangement, complementing larger, more substantial blooms.

So, while the garden may appear to be winding down, quite a lot of next year's display is already getting started.

Keeping the brassicas healthy

The brassicas need a little more attention at the moment, with an outbreak of cabbage whitefly and mildew.

Damaged foliage and badly affected plants need removing rather than being left among healthy growth. Keeping plants well spaced also helps air to circulate and can reduce the conditions in which fungal problems develop.

It's one of those less glamorous jobs that becomes important at this time of year: keeping on top of small problems before they become bigger ones.

Ivy: friend or foe?

In the shadier corner of the garden, a large Pittosporum shrub has been rather overwhelmed by ivy.

The ivy has become so vigorous and heavy that it has brought part of the shrub down, so it's time to bring it under control and prevent it taking over completely.

But this isn't a case of simply getting rid of all the ivy.

Ivy has real wildlife value at this time of year. Its late flowers provide an important source of nectar for pollinators when many other plants have finished flowering, while its berries provide food for birds later in the winter.

The aim, therefore, is to manage it rather than eliminate it.

Not everything that grows vigorously needs removing. Sometimes it simply needs managing.

Making room for wildlife

We're also looking at ways of making better use of some of the material that would once have gone on the bonfire.

We're hoping to limit bonfires and instead use old branches, twigs and other woody material to build substantial bug hotels and habitat piles beneath the trees.

It's an awkward area of the garden to cultivate, apart from the spring bulbs, so creating habitat there gives it another useful purpose.

Branches and other natural materials can provide shelter for insects and small creatures, as well as places for wildlife to overwinter.

It may not be the tidiest corner of the garden — but that's rather the point.

A new-look wood store

Meanwhile, Brian, Ollie and Michael have been busy renovating the wood store.

With new timber and felt, it is now considerably more weatherproof and much more fit for purpose. There is also room for fresh plant stakes and kindling, which will be available for sale.

It may not be as eye-catching as a bed of dahlias, but this kind of practical work is an important part of keeping the Garden Gate running.

Creative hands at work

Our crafters have been busy too, colouring and embroidering around a series of illustrated fabric templates.

The templates provide a starting point, but people are bringing their own skills and ideas to them — combining colouring, embroidery and different decorative techniques to develop the designs.

There is something particularly satisfying about this kind of activity. It is practical and purposeful, but also gives people the opportunity to learn from one another and see how their individual contribution can become part of something shared.

It's very much the sort of occupationally constructive activity that we value at the Garden Gate: something to concentrate on, something to work towards and something tangible to show for the time spent.

🍂 Autumn Falling Leaves Festival

Saturday 17 October · 1–4pm

And finally, we'd love to welcome you to our Autumn Falling Leaves Festival.

Come along and enjoy an afternoon at the Garden Gate as the garden begins its transition into autumn.

There will be our usual refreshments, homemade cakes and pizzas, as well as a particularly well-stocked plant stall, with plants including water buttercups and bulrushes.

We'll also have an assortment of homemade jams and chutneys, alongside a selection of crafts made by the project.

It's a chance to see what we've been growing, making and working on over the past few months, pick up a few plants or homemade goodies, have something to eat and spend a little time in the garden.

We hope to see you there.

By then, the garden will have moved a little further towards winter. But that's the interesting thing about October.

The flowers are still blooming. Seeds are already growing. Vegetables are preparing for their winter harvest. Wildlife is looking for shelter and food. And beneath it all, next year's garden is quietly getting started.

Nothing has really stopped. It's simply changing season.