Wind and Rain

I’ve been busy with work for the past couple of weeks, which hasn’t left time for doing more than the minimum (ie watering) on the balcony. So I knew that this weekend had to be dedicated to clearing up a bit. Climbers needed tying up, the plants still in flower needed dead heading, there were seed pods needing collecting, and so on. There was a bit of dead stuff too, but on the other hand quite a lot of plants were still looking good, particularly the plumbago and petunias which had all breathed a sigh of relief when the summer heat disappeared and had come back into full flower. As had the pelargoniums (photo above). The alyssum (photo below) was blooming well again too, for the second time this year, while the marigolds had never stopped.

And then on Friday, autumn hit with a vengeance, with 12 hours of strong winds, storms and torrential rain. So strong that even the balconies got drenched, which only happens very rarely.

The rain wreaked havoc with the plants which were trailing over the balustrade, while the wind blew over a lot of stuff inside the balcony and snapped off stems on some of the taller plants. By Saturday they were looking decidedly sad and soggy, and the general clear-up had changed into a major rescue operation. The only positive point was that the tree was looking considerably cleaner than it had the day before …

Today the sun came back out and everything cheered up fast, but I think that it probably marks the beginning of the end for most of the annuals. So it’s time to start thinking about winter flowers. There are buds on the asters, chrysanthemums and cyclamen, and the only primrose which made it through the heat of the summer is throwing out leaves again. And I’ve just found a too-good-to-miss offer in a gardening magazine for bulbs.

So, I can't say I'm looking forward to winter, but maybe there will be compensations ...