Natural cycles....

...they come...they go....

...the seasons come...linger...and then move on...

Just as we all do.   It has been a sad few weeks, death of friends, family, pets...but all these are a natural cycle such as we see every day in our gardens.   The garden is a comfort to me.   Things grow, flourish and finally die but there is always new growth to follow...so it is with all life.   Even in death there is a hope.   In the grief there is knowledge that it will pass, life will go on....may not be the same but there will be good times again one day.

This last few days it has been WINDY season as we were battered by the dying tail of Hurricane Gonzalo.

Bamboo taking a hammering in the wind.

The bamboo is planted there as much for it's screening and good looks value as a part windbreak down that side of the garden.   Nevertheless I know I will have to put in some artificial wind baffle to stop the wind racing like an express train down the garden.   I hoped it would be better since my neighbour put up his fence, but it is worse.   The fence is a solid fence and channels, rather than filters, wind as it would if it were slatted.

At last the wind abated after a couple of days of noise.   You wouldn't believe the different sounds the wind makes whistling, hissing, banging, groaning, rustling...and then quiet when it stops.   Peace.

I went out into the garden to survey the damage, not too bad.  So far the greenhouse has held but we get much worse 'blows' than this recent one.   We'll see...this gardening in the wind is a real challenge.

However, the garden is still providing provisions for my table.

Butternut soup, homemade and home-grown butternut.
Ignore what the mug says, it isn't ox-tail!

That was lunch yesterday and today I also had a meal from the garden.   I thinned the winter lettuce.   Instead of composting the thinnings I replanted a few and made a salad out of the others.   No matter how thinly I plant lettuce seed I always have far too many per pot.

Lunch time salad - greens home grown and a couple of the tomatoes

So it was pleasant working away in the greenhouse this morning.

Winter lettuce seedlings - will grow them on to big lettuces.

Don't waste those you thin,
 they are excellent in salad.

The Mandevilla is absolutely thriving in the greenhouse at present and filling it with sweet musky tropical scent.   I will try to move it indoors later but it might be a bit difficult to see how or where to put it as it has a vine creeping habit.    I need a hanging place near a window I think.

Mandevilla and beneath is a Pelagonium.

 Maybe tomorrow Jonah and I will have an opportunity to go and plant the remainder of the bulbs in the garden.   I might get just a few more miniature daffodil bulbs on the weekend....and then that will be it for spring bulb planting.   J & D gave me some bluebell bulbs which I have already planted on JP's grave as they requested.   Yes, we had a good walk through the bluebells with them one afternoon, it will remind me of the happy times.  

JP is part of the garden but he is going to part of a much bigger scheme one day...it is a secret for now, I will tell you all about it when it happens...it is a lovely idea another  friend, H, has thought of in remembrance of him...a real wild garden....I'll say no more....

Would you believe it I picked another bunch of sweet-peas too today.   In spite of the wind, the willow fence behind which they grow did a good job of sheltering them!

Sweet-peas,
courgettes, on of them a marrow already
and some winter salad greens

Look....Courgettes!   The first the slugs haven't managed to eat before me!  At last and one has grown so big it is almost a marrow.   I expect the Fernley Whittingstall Veg book will have a good idea of what I can do with it.  It won't go to waste.

So wind notwithstanding I had a very productive couple of hours in the garden this morning.

Willow fence protecting the sweet-peas

A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself. ~May Sarton

That's all for now, folks.....chat to you again soon.