The autumn break

My poor garden is looking very confused at the moment.  You could be forgiven for thinking it's autumn, as a lot of the leaves are brown and some fruit trees have lost all their leaves.

Part of me wishes it was the end of summer, because it would bring the drenching rains known as the autumn break.  Goodness knows we need it.

The truth is, a lot of the trees were scorched in the recent heatwave that bought high temperatures and fierce winds. The leaves have blown off the plum trees, dried clusters of fruit hang off the currant bushes and some apple trees have turned up their toes, perhaps they've even carked it, but hopefully they've opted for an early hibernation.   They've all been given lots of long soaks to revive their parched roots, but we'll have to see if they bounce back next spring.

It's not all doom and gloom of course.  There are some tomatoes in their way, sunny sunflowers, lots of beans that I'm hoping to dry and use over winter, and a delicious crop of crunchy cos lettuce to eat now.

We've one more precious week of the school holidays, and once school goes back  I plan to devote some much needed time and energy to the garden.  Hopefully I'll be able to whip it back into some sort of respectable shape with more mulch, liquid feeds and a bloody good weeding (which are still thriving in this hot dry summer!)

In the meantime, the peeps and I are heading off on a mini camping trip.  I can't wait to get away and spend some down time with them.   Too early for the autumn break, but nonetheless a break of the midsummer kind.

8 comments garden, nature, seasons

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