So long, Summer
After our week long break at the end of September to visit Bridget in England, we came home and found that Autumn had started - just like that. Those hours spent sitting in Bridget’s garden in the sunshine, enjoying a beer or two and the good company suddenly seemed like a long time ago. The temperature dropped, the rain had started and we had our first frosts. In just two weeks our summer garden had turned into autumn bleakness. Gone were my courgette plants …and I was only just in time to harvest the pumpkins and green tomatoes. The Brussel sprouts and kale were calling out ” Look at me, I am ready for eating!!” but I turned a blind eye…
Winter is coming
…because harvesting Brussel sprouts means that winter is just around the corner and I am really not looking forward to it. We had planned that our house would be more or less finished in time for Winter 2012 but then everything changed. Instead of building our dream home, we’re back on the government fuelled treadmill having to obtain a permit for a new and very different house. It’s all taking a lot longer then we had hoped. So here we are, spending another winter in our far from ideal temporary accommodation.
All this made me less than enthusiastic about getting out there in the garden and cleaning out the dead plants. My mind was preoccupied with the thought of winter, the cold, the frozen pipes and blocked toilet.
Brave Calendula
Then one morning I braced myself. I put on my boots, gloves and winter jacket, armed myself with a spade, shears and the wheelbarrow and ventured out… Peeping out from behind the slimy courgette and browning tomato plants I discovered a few Calendula plants, stubbornly holding on to life and I remembered that they were there right back at the beginning of Spring when everywhere was still in winter-mode. The calendula flowers were the first to arrive and bring me some much needed colour and hope for good times ahead.
I reckon that if a Calendula plant can defy frosts, heavy rain and hail then I surely can do the same…
About Laila Noort
My name is Laila Noort. Originally the gardener of a 2×2 square metre garden, balcony and windowsill in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, I am now the owner of more than 2,000 square metres of grassland in the Belgian Ardennes. I used to work as a secretary in an office but always felt there must be more to life…
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I have been wondering when to harvest my brussel sprouts! I guess now is the time.
Hi Julie, thanks for stopping by. From what I know you can harvest brussel sprouts after the first frost. Enjoy!