Every autumn I fight the losing battle of The Great Well Kept Garden and very rapidly concede defeat. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy gardening, in fact, I can’t avoid green-fingeredness as it is well and truly in my genes (as least on my father’s side). However, I am the first to admit that I am a fair-weather gardener. From May until September my little patch of ground is lush, green, and well-tended; lawn neatly edged, borders dug over, patio swept, shrubs trimmed, beds full of bright annuals, neat rows of tender seedlings reaching for the sun (and if they escape the voracious appetite of the resident army of slugs, will eventually turn up on my dinner plate in the form of carrots and beans). But this garden is far from being perfectly manicured; I have plenty of rough, scrubby untouched patches, bee and ladybird houses for the little creatures, a submerged water-filled bowl which is home to five frogs and also serves as a watering hole and bath to a variety of feathered friends. At the far end there are gaps scraped out under fences to allow the nocturnal passage of hedgehogs and other restless, wandering fellows on their nightly jaunts.
However, by November my entire garden has become a soggy, unkempt and reasonably neglected mess. My brief visits out the back are solely to top up the bird feeders and water dish and to scoop leaves off the surface of the mini-pond. The gentle flurry of autumn leaves quickly become a torrent and the lawn is soon blanketed in gold, mustard and russet. As I sit in the warmth of my living room, gazing outside, I berate myself for my laziness and lack of green-fingered motivation. Around me my neighbours are busy with leaf blowers and rakes, making the most of the last little bit of dry weather. In fact, I have even been tutted at by one diligent neighbour, for my lackadaisical approach to leaf collection!
However, it isn’t just laziness or the comfort of soft furnishings and central heating that keep me inside. It is not because I choose to neglect my garden, it is because I choose not to interfere. This is armchair gardening at its best. With a cup of tea and biscuit by my side, I sit back on my comfortable settee and watch, reaping the rewards of my negligence. And it doesn’t take long; soon spiders, harvestmen and other mini-beasts shelter under their crisp leaf umbrellas, a pair of blackbirds methodically work their way around the garden turning over every leaf looking for whatever tasty morsel hides beneath, flocks of cheerful redwings congregate nosily in the berry-heavy pyracantha. Frogs hibernate under the broken pots submerged in the damp earth beside the pond, a robin starts scouting out the unpruned ivy-covered fence looking for potential nest sites and in early spring jays strip the dry, reed-like leaves from the crocosmia for nest-building. But most rewarding of all was early one morning a week or two back, when I opened my curtains. There on the lawn was a young hedgehog, scuttling around, industriously gathering bundles of leaves in its mouth and disappearing into the undergrowth to build a winter nest. Watching its hibernation preparation was truly delightful and I hope my garden provided it with everything it needed.
So manicure your lawns, grub out your weeds, rake up your leaves, but perhaps leave a little unruly patch wild and untouched. Do not apologise for your untidy garden nor punish yourself for leaving it a little less cultivated than usual, because there will be plenty of living creatures out there who will be eternally grateful for the bed, bath and board that your little piece of fallen Eden has afforded them in hard times.
Categories: gardening
A lovely read, leaving you with a warm autumn glow.
I am just the same, in Nov – Jan, I only visit my garden to check on the mini pond, feed the birds and make sure none of the pots have blown over.
Your article makes me glad I’m not the only one who leaves the garden as it is. I think it is lovely and rewarding that you had that young hedgehog snuffling around
I agree totally, the bird feeders are topped up, the ice is thawed with pans of warm water to allow the fish some airholes and I sit in my kitchen watching nature taking over.
I love this kind of gardening
I’m untidy too.. but when showing people round my ‘composting demonstration garden’, which has over 40 compost bins, tumblers, wormeries and leafmould heaps, plus turf walls, logples and a compost toilet, I always say “but when was nature ever tidy?” as a kind of excuse/explanation. And the garden is indeed full of wildlife, from goldcrests to sparrowhawks, newts to mice, and we see the occasional hedgehog too. My favourite animal? The robins who always come so close when I’m moving sacks of materials around or turning a heap. Fearless and friendly, and very fond of beetle larvae and similar invertebrate morsels.
yes, I was brought up to leave corners where the wild things could be too! I leave seed heads on plants, only cutting down in spring, they have their own beauty when frosted even when the seeds have been devoured:-)