Mild weather continued for the first half of the month, the dahlias in particular looking really good until the temperature dropped out of their comfort zone. On the subject of dahlias there is some debate to be had on whether or not to grow them at all. The first part of the year in my context they really struggled to get going, being constantly mown down by passing slugs in the night, despite my best and sometimes not most friendly attempts to control the situation. It was hugely frustrating and I didn’t see my first dahlia flower until the 27th July! Given that I’m not willing to scatter poison and this being an allotment garden (I’m only occasionally present) I’m forced to think twice about their inclusion in the garden. The case for would suggest that there’s a long tradition of dahlia growing on allotments and that they remain a joyful growing experience, for children and adults alike. Contemporary thinking might point toward there being a sustainability issue and the wisdom of right plant right place highlights the fact that they would not have got this far without significant intervention on my part. But then do we not grow any tender exotics at all, or should we expect to work, to tend to our plants, and hope to reap the rewards? The gardener in me accepts the challenge of succeeding with the plants I choose to grow, like gardeners down the ages, whether it’s Joseph Paxton’s great botanical feat of coaxing Victoria amazonica into flower or the achievements of any number of allotmenteers who frantically nurture young plants planted out too soon to harvestable maturity.
Bare root roses arrived from Trevor White Roses, I planted one and temporarily potted the other. At Mottisfont Abbey in June this year I savoured a Portland Damask rose called Amande Paternotte, which had the best fragrance of all the old roses there on the day. So good that I went back round the garden to smell it again after I’d done a complete circuit. Old rare roses are not so hard to find these days so it’s great to take delivery of these gems and to have them in the garden.
By the end of the month it’s looking like autumn has peaked and winter is now approaching, some rough stormy weather and a cold spell finished off anything tender or half hardy that was hanging on. The garden looks like it’s been battered but there’s still points of interest and produce to take, like the late chillies which are protected in the greenhouse and offering a harvest still.
Tend&Grow 