greenbenchramblings

Bracken and Bilberries. Part 1. Walking in the footsteps.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 12, 2012
14 Comments on Bracken and Bilberries. Part 1. Walking in the footsteps.

Bracken and Bilberries is a short series of posts all about walking and appreciating our local uplands, The South Shropshire Hills. Bracken and Bilberries are the main herbage underfoot as we walk these beautiful hills. They have a special atmosphere all of their own that is tangible. You can experience this atmosphere in its silence and smell its delicate scents wafting in the wind that never quite goes away. It is interesting but up in these hills the silence has a particular quality – the secret sounds of grasses moving, the wind pushing at foliage, clouds scurrying and rocks groaning through the centuries gone before. Strangely romantic words but there is no other way of explaining it!!

These hills have their own wildlife, difficult to see and only slightly easier to hear. Creatures here have to adapt to the uniqueness of place – the micro-climate, the acidic upland soils and topography moulded by passing glaciers. The wild creatures here are below our feet or above our heads, not actually sharing the space we walk in.

We decided that as we have so many wonderful walks within minutes up in these hills we should take advantage of them more often.The first trek was up to find a stone circle called Mitchell’s Fold which is a few minutes drive from home. We left home in bright sunshine, under clear blue skies, well wrapped against the cold but just as we approached the starting place the sky darkened, the rains fell and the mists rolled in to hide the hills from sight.

We had a quick coffee in the dry and warm car and then as usual decided to defy the rain and as usual within ten minutes of setting off on our gradual uphill climb the rain stopped, the mists lifted above our heads but continued to cap the taller hills. The sun even came out at times through our wanderings. The light changed with every passing minute and I hope the pictures I took show this well.

From memory there was going to be a long steady climb to the stone circle. In truth it took just ten minutes or so. It shows how our perspectives change for the last time we came exploring up here our children were small so their short legs must have thought it a long climb.

We walked up through bracken browned by autumn on a soft path of green where sheep had mown the grass short with their munching. This gave little chance for few other plants to grow. The air hung with the unpleasant smell of sheep – dung and wet wool – simply too many sheep. In less favourable areas for sheep grazing the much more pleasant aroma of bracken won over, sweet and herby.

The weather brightened as our first sighting of the standing stones came into view. Sadly what showed most was the information board which presents a dilemna. We want the info but prefer not to see the board! Perhaps it would have been better for it to be fixed out of the view first seen on approach. Walking up to the stone circle we felt honoured to be walking in the foot steps of our ancestors from thousands of years ago.

Mitchell’s Fold originally boasted 30 standing stones varying in height from 1 to 2 metres and arranged in a circle of 27 metres in diameter, but today there are 14 stones left with only a few standing. The people of the Bronze Age, between 3000 and 4ooo years ago, constructed the circle it is assumed for ritual or ceremonial purposes. Originally there were three such circles within a few kilometres of each other. Hoarstones is still in evidence but of Whetstones there is no sign.

An alternative version of the story of the circle’s creation is very much a local tale. The tallest stone is a petrified witch who was turned to stone as a punishment by the local Shropshire folk for milking a magic cow through a sieve. Our Shropshire ancestors sensibly built the rest of the circle to prevent her from escaping. This tale is told in carvings in the sandstone of a local church.

If given the choice of the Bronze age peoples creating it and the petrified witch story I would opt for the second as it seems eminently logical and sensible to me. And obviously much more fun.

As with most places of mystery in England and Wales there are said to be links with King Arthur, the largest stone being the one the young Arthur pulled his sword from to make him the rightful king. This tale is not exclusive enough for me so I am sticking to the petrified witch story!

Close up to the stones we could admire Mother Nature’s artistry. She had painted landscapes of woods and fields out of lichens an mosses.

After soaking up the atmosphere of the magical circle of stones we decided to move on along the Stapeley Hill Ridge where we hoped to find further evidence of ancient man’s influence on the landscape. We were not to be disappointed. We found lots of earth works and shapes in the ground from the activities of ancient man. We even managed to pretty confidently work out what some were, surmised as to what others might have been and scratched our heads at others that totally baffled us. So we left the stone circle and followed the Ragleth Hill Path.

The first signs of man were more recent. The remnants of old hedgelines from the time after the Enclosure Act, just a few small trees along with broken bits of wall finished off with strands of modern barbed wire.

Before we encountered any ancient works of man to be confused by, we met a more recent addition to the Shropshire landscape which was designed to make the lives of walkers easier. This sign post definitely failed to make anything clear. Too many choices!! And the photo only shows the choices on two sides!

The first sign of man’s hand at work beyond the sign post was this long raised rampart. We thought it could be a trackway or perhaps the outer ring of a hill fort.

We were still climbing slowly and the air was moist. Water droplets sat on the webs spun by spiders on the Gorse bushes.

The views gradually became clearer and we could see further into the distance. As we walked these gentle slopes we were entertained by the Red Grouse calling in the bracken, but we failed to actually see one.

We skirted around the bottom of a ridge upon which we could see two piles of rock . We were determined to see what they were so we turned away from the track and followed a narrow sheep walkway up towards the top of the ridge. When half way up the climb we stopped to catch our breath and take in the views.

The clump of trees atop Callow Hill on the horizon is an old friend, as we see them ahead of us as we drive towards home from Shrewsbury.

The ridge of stones and raised ground, although difficult to see on the picture, appeared on the ground to be a part of the ditch and way into an earthwork.

The area of stones here at the base of the hillock that took us to the first stone pile were around a circular depression in the ground so we presumed they were the site of a hut circle.

As we reached the top of the ridge we realised the pile of stones was a cairn. We noticed just below the summit that the raised area was encircled by several clumps of different varieties of fungi. There were many different colours and shapes but none got much above the height of the shee-grazed grasses.

The most beautiful of all was this tiny bright red fungus. In the second shot Jude trieses to show us the underneath without damaging it. The grey woolly gloved finger shows how tiny this specimen actually was. Underneath we noticed that the inside of the gills was bright yellow with the outer edges painted in red.

When we reached the summit we had to follow the hill walkers’ tradition of adding a stone to the top of the cairn. The damp clear air up there provided the perfect atmosphere for lichen growth as this close up of the rock surfaces highlights.

This photo shows the landscape beyond the ridge which we planned to follow next to a second stone cairn. We promised ourselves a banana and a coffee when we reached it to give us energy and to warm us up. It was a good incentive.

We stood drinking our coffee and letting it warm us through as we drank in the view, looking out over the huge panorama. In the middle distance we could see the hill in the lee of which we live. We quietly stood hand in hand both having the same thoughts which we shared “How can we be lucky enough to live in such a beautiful place.”

Partway back along the ridge we enjoyed distant views of The Stiperstones, a high rugged ridge famous for its rock formations along its long ridge back. That distant view gave us an idea for our next walk in the Shropshire Hills.

We came across a big earth work partway back where a long ditch and raised bank crossed our path. We realised after exploring it for a while that it may have been a part of Offa’s Dyke, the massive wall built to keep the Welsh marauders from crossing into England (we had been following the Offa’s Dyke Trail for part of our walk). We crossed without resistance!

I hope you enjoyed sharing this wander through the Shropshire Hills with us. The weather was a bit dramatic and ever-threathening, the ground beneath our feet wet and slippery but we defied the rain and wind and cold and enjoyed the gentle climb and the views that unfolded for us.

Stiperstones next stop!

Tags autumn, hills, landscapes, Mitchells Fold, Shropshire Hills, South Shropshire Hills, stone circles, wildlife

allotments autumn autumn colours bird watching colours community gardening fruit and veg garden photography garden wildlife gardening grasses grow your own meadows natural pest control ornamental trees and shrubs photography roses wildlife

A Wander Around our Allotments in November

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 10, 2012
10 Comments on A Wander Around our Allotments in November

The penultimate lottie wander post for 2012 and at last the weather is providing a few bright cold days. This is what we look forward to in this autumnal month, rather than the wet dark days we have been presented with in the first few days. The light is warm and gives a crisp edge to any photos taken as the blue haze of summer has disappeared.

We went up the lottie yesterday to deliver some spare seeds for the Seed Swap basket and to collect some greens left by fellow plot holders for our chickens. They are spoilt by our friends from the site! It was mid-afternoon and we had not intended to stop to work, but we changed our minds. We got out the communal mowers and rakes and gave the final two meadows their annual “hair cuts”. Jude, The Undergardener did most of the work as it is a bit difficult with my spine and leg pains, so I wandered off taking advantage of the special quality of the day’s light and shot off a couple of dozen pics with my Galaxy.

As we worked on the meadows the resident Field Voles scuttled off as they felt the mower’s vibrations and disappeared down their holes. We left a few clumps of wildflowers standing for everyone to enjoy before winter cuts them down. Field Scabious, Mallow and Sunflowers.

The meadows that are already trimmed look flat and brown, but the pathways mown through them look crisp and green.

The foliage in our Sensory Garden is given extra vitality in the November sunshine.

The next shot is a view of the site boundary through the seed heads of a white-flowered Actaea across the Spring Garden. In the Spring Garden a tiny Acer shows that you don’t have to be big to impress.

In the meadows the last of the grasses and sunflowers stand tall and proud.

Up in the mature Sycamore and Oak the resident bats will be shuffling around and preening in readiness to leave their roosts in the boxes and go on the feed for moths and night-flying insects. Bats are our night-time pest control patrols. In the daylight hours we are being entertained by birds of prey often being mobbed by our flocks of Jackdaws and Rooks . Peregrines, Buzzard, Red Kite, Kestrel and Sparrow Hawk.

Around the plots the gardeners are preparing their plots for the winter, beds are cleared and manure piled up or spread over the surface.

A few crops remain for winter sustenance.The red stems and purple leaves of Ruby Chard add a burst of colour. Brassicas are covered to give protection from ravenous and greedy Wood Pigeons who love to eat the sweet centres of Brussels Sprouts and the tenderest, newest leaves of cabbages.

A few remaining flowers add extra brightness to the plots.Tthat most popular of companion plants, the Calendula brightens up compost areas and odd roses still perform in the Summer Garden. We can expect these David Austin roses to continue to treat us to flowers until the new year.

The star of the site for the next few months will be the Winter Garden and it is already showing promises and hints of what delights it has in store for us in times ahead. As leaves fall from trees and shrubs the colours and textures of the stems and trunks will come into their own.

We have endured a wet summer and autumn with each month breaking previous rainfall records. Crops have been poor and we have been flooded four times. Dave, the Scarecrow looks a bit worse for wear too!

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Nuts and Berries

As allotment gardeners we enjoy late summer and early autumn as the busiest harvesting time, but lots more food is coming into readiness in our ornamental gardens and parks. Nuts, seeds and berries provide feasts for wildlife and feasts for our eyes.

Sweet Chestnut awaiting the attention of squirrels in Pittville Park in Cheltenham.

Onopordum seed heads against a blue sky in our garden.

Drooping Dieramas.

Black umbellifer seeds.

Crataegus berries and autumn foliage.

A host of Arum Lilies.

Jude “The Undergardener” mystified by an unknown chestnut.

The chestnut had spiky golf balls as nut capsules.

Mad clashing colours on Euonymous europaeus.

Crocosmia Lucifer graceful stems with its ginger coloured seeds.

Let us now have a wander around our garden and spot red berries, and photograph them before the Mistle Thrushes, Redwings and Fieldfares gorge on them.

But unlike Henry Ford we do grow our berries in more than one colour!

White Dogwood.

Two-tone Hypericum.

Musky purple grapes.

This unusual cream berried Cotoneaster always confuses garden visitors. (C. rothchildsiana)

Tags autumn, autumn colours, autumn harvests, fruit., garden photography, gardening, harvests, ornamental trees, shrubs

allotments autumn fruit and veg garden photography gardening grow your own

Fruity

We harvested our first apples last month and have been harvesting other varieties as they ripen. We still have a few varieties waiting on the treesto be collected. The first harvest was from a tree we have trained over an arch, having bought it as a one year maiden. It is a deep red-blushed beauty called “Scrumptious” which is a rather silly name but I have to admit quite apt. The basket weighed in at 8lb 7oz. – very pleasing!

The other variety that we normally harvest in September is James Grieve, which grows in the company of a clematis over another arch. This tree is a reliable heavy cropper and this year’s crop looked most promising as we waited for it to ripen. We can enjoy the taste of this apple straight from picking and they stay full of flavour for a few months, but it does not store too well.

The harvest did live up to expectations weighing in at 27 lb with a few of the individual fruit being really large as we can see in the picture below of these two sitting on Jude, the Undergardener’s hand.

All the apple, pear and plum trees in our garden were bought as one year maidens and we have trained them into cordons, over arches and as step-overs. Now after ten years it is so rewarding to see them as such productive trees. Of course apple trees are worth growing for their blossom as well, so they are doubly useful to us gardeners.

The apple below is Red Falstaff a variety we have trained as a single-stemmed upright tree. It sits to the left of our greenhouse door, where, coupled with Scrumptious on the right of the door, it gives the impression of being one of a pair of sentinels guarding the doorway. We harvested our Red Falstaff a few days ago and the fruit has developed much deeper red blushed cheeks. In total though the little tree produced only half a dozen pounds of fruit.

The green fruit below is a Bramley apple, the only pure cooker we grow. It is not the best of croppers as we made the mistake of training it as a step-over. Bramley is a tip-bearer so when we carry out the formative pruning necessary with step-overs we are effectively cutting out most of its future fruiting buds. However it does give us a small crop every year, so it has forgiven me my ignorance. We stew this cooking apple and then freeze them to use in pies in the winter and spring. As we do not grow many cooking varieties we tend to use wind falls and any damaged fruit of eaters as cookers or as ingredients in chutneys or mixed with blackberries in jams.

Ashmeads Kernel seen below however is a most successful step-over tree, with a dry textured skin and nutty flavour. This apple is one of the last to be harvested in late October but will not be at its eating best until December through to February, when its flavours will have fully developed.

We grow some heritage varieties which tend to produce fewer fruits but are usually better flavoured, such as Cornish Aromatic, Beauty of Bath, Pixie and King of Pippins.

The photo below shows the unusually shaped, boxy fruit of Cornish Aromatic with its green skin with a few freckles of slightly deeper green.

Any apples whose flavour improves with keeping ,we store in shallow trays with individual fruit wrapped in newspaper to make sure no fruits touch each other. If an apple does go bad when in store then this barrier of newspaper will stop it spreading too quickly.

The act of picking fruit evokes our senses, the touch of the skin as we twist the fruit from the tree, the scent of the fruit in the hand and the subtle variations of reds and greens to delight the eye. And then of course comes the taste, in some cases best straight from the tree in others the tastes matures with age, reaching a peak months after being plucked from the tree. There is also the sensation of the first bite, the crunch, the juice running and the balance of taste between sweet and acidic, and the hints of fruits shared with other fruits, strawberries and pineapples.

Our pear trees were a great disappointment this year. Out of our four cordons only one produced any fruit at all but just look at the size of them!

Tags allotments, apples, autumn, community gardening, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, fruit., garden photography, gardening, grown your own, harvest, organic gardening

blogging photography thanks

Another thank you.

I was recently nominated for another blogging award, the Kreativ Blogger Award, by Penny who writes the blog, harvestbeyondmyfrontdoor.wordpress.com . I am grateful for her nomination and by accepting it I agree to list 7 things you may not know about me and nominate 7 blogs of my choice for this Award.

As this award is about creativity I thought I would share just one photo that I created accidentally as I clicked the shutter button whilst carrying my camera out into the garden last week. Hard to tell what it is but it is quite pleasing in a simple way.

Margie, who posts one of my favourite blogs recently asked me about the photographic equipment I use so my 7 items about myself will relate to this.

1. My main camera is a Nikon DSLR

2. I use two lenses, both zooms, a Nikkor 18 – 55 and a Nikkor 70 – 300 VR.

3. If the weather is too wet or if I am shooting in adverse weather conditions I use my Canon Powershot compact.

4. If I forget my camera and find a picture that needs to be taken I use the camera facility on my Galaxy Smartphone which is an exceptionally good camera. It has a good macro facility and is great for shots without flash both indoors or out in the dark.

5. I keep a Skylight Filter on the lenses at all times to protect the precious glassware.

6. The only creative filters I use are a polariser and a +4 close up filter.

7. The software I use is Photoshop Elements.

My nominations for the Kreativ Blogger Award are

1. allotmental.com

2. photonatureblog.com

3. grandparentsplus2.wordpress.com

4. thepyjamagardener.wordpress.com

5. arignagardener.wordpress.com

6. anartistsgarden.co.uk

7. fennelandfern.co.uk

Tags awards, blogging, thank you

autumn autumn colours colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens open to the public National Garden Scheme ornamental trees and shrubs photography shrubs The National Gardening Scheme" trees

The Dingle – A Welsh Garden Wonder

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 3, 2012
4 Comments on The Dingle – A Welsh Garden Wonder

Close to Welshpool, just a half hour from home across the Welsh border, are our favourite nursery and garden centre, The Dingle and The Derwen, part of the same family. They sell unusual trees and shrubs and many good-value perennials all locally grown. But hidden away in the Dingle nursery, through a little wooden gate is a wonderful sloping garden. The garden is mostly a wonderful collection of unusual trees and shrubs on a gentle slope down to a lake, so a visit in the autumn is an assault on the senses.

The nursery which is now over 40 years old, grows thousands of plants on its 150 acres of Welsh countryside. We rarely come away without a gem – and they give free coffee away too!

The garden itself extends to just four acres, but those four acres feel much larger than expected with a complex network of paths which give occasional views which are wide and stunning. This is good garden design.

As the paths take us around corners they feature interesting, colourful shrubs and trees to delight the eye before enticing us to find out what is around the next corner.

Being on a slope, the garden’s many seats are most warmly welcomed by aching legs.

Some of the seating provides cover which proved useful a few times as showers burst from the dark sky just visible through gaps in the trees.

Coloured, textured foliage and bark keep the interest of the plant lover in us going strong and enticing us around each corner.

As in any good garden little cameos stop us in our tracks and catch the eye.

The lake at the lowest point of the garden, provides a restful place – restful to the eye and restful to the legs.

Strong contrasts in foliage colour show up in the brighter weather as we work our way back up the paths to the gate.

As in any garden specialising in trees and shrubs the stars of the autumn are the Acers.

Back up the top of the garden we pass through the little wooden gate and are tempted for a perusal of the colourful nursery beds.

Tags acers., autumn, autumn colours, cornus, foliage, foliage plants, garden photography, gardening, NGS, ornamental trees, Powis, shrubs, trees, Welshpool

garden photography gardens open to the public Land Art outdoor sculpture photography the South

David Nash at Kew Gardens – Part 1

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 1, 2012

Can you have a better day than this? Outdoor sculpture collection with one of the world’s best exponents – David Nash. The only World Heritage Site that is a garden – Kew. And the best company possible – Jude and our four kids (we started off with two but they each gained another).

And here they are (well just four of them) taking a break in the Temperate House. Apart from Jude and Sam we are all camera-toters so it is impossible to get a pic of us all together as there is always at least one left somewhere composing their artistic endeavours.

We drove down to London in drizzle and mist – a miserable journey through beautiful countryside we couldn’t see, but after a night’s rest in a comfy hotel room we met our four kids in the White Peaks Cafe just inside the world of Kew. The day was a great improvement over yesterday but as we left the car our ears were subjected to the cacophony of noise made by the parakeets now dominating the parks of the capital. They do not fit here at all. Our native Jays in their subtle outfits of pink and blue were much more in keeping.

Lattes and lemonades safely stored away we followed the Kew App that sent us on the trail of the collection of David Nash pieces. It was over a year since we had seen his retrospective exhibition at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park so we were more than ready to appreciate his work again.

Two of my favourite pieces were created from strips of cork oak bark, a huge cone in the conservatory and a low dome out in the open.

As with much of his work there is beauty in the details.

Suddenly I was presented with a sighting of a wonderful juxtaposition.

So another amazing exhibition of the work of David Nash. I wonder when we shall be treated to his next?

Tags cork oak, David Nash, garden photography, Kew Gardens, land art, outdoor sculpture

autumn colours garden photography gardening grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography trees

Leaves

Just for a change we have no words just photographs to enjoy. A few sneak in near the end though!

If only you could smell the leaves below! They are from the tree called Cercidyphilum and they smell so sweet. I think they smell of toffee apples, Jude thinks they smell of candyfloss while others think the scents reminiscent of brittle toffee, burnt sugar, in fact anything sweet and sticky!

The most underrated plants for autum leaf colour must be the grasses. They very rarely get a mention in relation to autumn colour, so let’s put it right.

Tags autumn, autumn colours, autumn leaves, colours, foliage, foliage plants, garden photography, gardening, leaves, ornamental trees, trees

autumn garden design garden photography gardening hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography roses Shropshire

A Wander around our Garden in October

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 28, 2012
6 Comments on A Wander around our Garden in October

The tenth post in this series of wanders around our garden already! Just two to go! What shall I do for a monthly garden post instead next year? Any ideas for me?

October started off with days of endless heavy rain but after a fortnight it changed to steady drizzle. A bit of sun would be welcome right now.

The first frosts have visited us forcing us to bring the Aeoniums, Echeverias and our other tender plants under cover. We shall have to keep them safe in the “bubble wrapped” greenhouse, by giving them virtually no water and removing any dry or damaged foliage and when the temperatures drops below -15 C give them additional snug coverings of fleece and bubble-wrap. Another sign of autumn is the log delivery which was tipped off the back of a truck onto our drive mid-month. We sorted them and stacked them around the front door. The wonderfully evocative woody aroma of oak and birch trees mixes with the sweet scents of the woodland floor. The scents of the season.

We visited the gardens at our favourite nursery yesterday, The Dingle at Welshpool, a superb autumn garden on a sloping hillside leading down to lakes. (Look out for my post in the next week or so) As usual we returned with a few acquisitions – a tiny orange Kniphofia, Cornus canadensis and Clerondendron bungeii.

We have planted the Kniphofia with a trio of bronze-leaved grasses and near to our darkest blue Agapanthus. As the “poker” is flowering now, its head of tubular orange flowers glows alongside the Agapanthus’ developing seed heads of blue and pewter.

Sometimes autumn hues aren’t just provided by deciduous trees changing the colours of their leaves but by foliage on perennials, grasses and shrubs. Euphorbias are a fine example, as are grasses which have the added bonus of seed heads. Look out for the pic of our Pentstemon Huskers Red which always surprises with its deep red autumn explosions.

But amongst all this red hot foliage we mustn’t lose sight of the flowers that continue to add colour to the garden. There are now fewer so each one is a precious jewel.

I shall finish off with a few pics of autumn coloured leaves, just what you expect in October! And then take a look at one border and take a walk down just one of our many grass paths.

Tags autumn, autumn colours, colour, crocosmias, foliage, foliage plants, garden photography, grasses, October, ornamental trees, pentstemon, roses, shrubs

allotments autumn community gardening fruit and veg garden photography garden wildlife gardening grow your own hardy perennials Shropshire

A Wander around our Allotments in October

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 26, 2012
5 Comments on A Wander around our Allotments in October

Flooding and its problems have dominated our allotment month. For the third time this year our allotment site has been under water. Rotten potatoes, bark paths washed away, rows of seedlings washed onto other plots and onto pathways and items stored in sheds ruined. This is sadly becoming a regular occurence. We have a meeting with the town council next week so perhaps we can come away with some positive news for the allotment members.

But let’s concentrate on the positives of our lovely site. The people and the plants. This is our friend Sherlie with a monster cabbage!

Phil had never grown apples until four years ago when he asked me to help him set up a row of cordon apples and pears and teach him the necessary skills. Now look at what he has achieved this year!

Our wander with camera in hand took us through the Autumn Garden over to our plot and then across to the Winter Garden via the Spring and Summer Gardens.

The Autumn Garden, appropriately, is now looking wonderful with late season flowers looking colourful amongst foliage the colour of fire.

Butterflies, bees and hoverflies were flocking to the asters in this garden for the first fortnight this month but as the weather turned colder they rapidly disappeared. Buddlejas flower profusely around the site during the summer attracting beneficial insects and pollinators, but this orange one flowers in the autumn.

We grow a variety of Sorbus trees here and they provide wonderful foils for late flowering perennials.

The stars here though have to be the Echinacea.

Around the trees in the Birch Grove fairies have been at work. So many plot holders have been taking photos of their handywork.

On our own plot we are still picking autumn raspberries. The three varieties of kale we are growing are looking quite colourful as is a sole sunflower – the only sun to be seen up on the lotties at the moment. The day these pics were taken was dark and overcast.

A little bit of extra colour can be found in the leaves of our blackberry bramble.

The crops that we will be harvesting during the winter and early spring are coming along nicely. Leeks, parsnips, carrots and celeriac.

The Winter Garden is an oasis of brightness with most of the colours coming from foliage.

I shall finish my October wander with some great news. Three Bowbrook Allotment Community gardeners were invited to the Mayor’s Award Ceremony earlier in the month. Dave, on the left, received his certificate and cup for the Best Front Garden in Shrewsbury and Sue and Paul collected their award for Best Half Allotment in Shrewsbury. Well done to them!