October/November 2009

October/November 2009 will be remembered for beech masts. Huge quantities of these nuts have been produced and many birds and animals have benefited.

Each year something is produced in abundance and this year it is, locally in the Palace grounds at least, beech masts and acorns. The wood pigeons have been having a field day and some can be seen waddling around in a sort of stupor, drunk with the fermenting nuts inside them. Red squirrels have also been having a great time. We worried that none were coming to our feeders when we replenished them for the autumn but they are here in numbers, just preferring to feed on the natural bounty rather than fight their way in to a cage of peanuts. The local jackdaws have also been eager to benefit. We have watched these clever little birds high in the branches of the oak trees, picking off an acorn then bring it down to a stronger branch where they can hack away at the shell and get at the tasty kernel.

The previously devasted roses are still blooming, into November. The severe pruning they were given by the roe deer may have caused us anxiety in July and August but what a bonus, a bed full of blooms in November. The hanging baskets, also, are still up in November the bacopa, begonias and lobelia continuing to bloom, probably due to the lack of a severe frost, as yet.One of the stars to look out for is a recently planted Sorbus Kashmirii. It’s snow white berries have been produced in profusion, this year, which makes for a lovely sight.

So as we go into the darker months of winter we still await our first real frost of the winter. The log fires are on and consuming a fair quantity of logs each week. The trees have turned and the leaves have almost gone and winter chores take over. Plants need to be trimmed back,fruit trees pruned, lawns scarified and de-mossed and dung needs to be spread....everywhere. Good well rotted dung, you can’t beat it. Innes

Garden Gallery