Autumn Cottage Diarist

Gilded Chairs and Fairytale Turrets

Oh, how these enchanted, golden early autumn days set one to idle dreaming!

For the last few days, I've been intermittently watching 'The Chateau Diaries' on YouTube - weekly blogs from Stephanie Jarvis, the Chatelaine  of  Chateau La Lande - one of the Brit-owned Chateaux featured in a couple of series of 'Escape to the Chateau - DIY'. The original 'Escape to the Chateau' series - I think there have now been four of them - was based upon the renovation of Chateau de la Motte Husson by Dick Strawbridge (previously seen in the series 'It's Not Easy Being Green') and his wife, Angela (Angel) Adoree.

I've avidly watched all series over the last four years and - seemingly like half of the UK - fallen in love with the week by week details of the restoration of their chateau; but I find the couple themselves strong medicine - a bit of a love/not so much relationship of being somewhat overwhelmed by their 'full on' personalities and total and utter admiration for the amount of sheer hard work that they very clearly put in to the renovation - they deserve all the success they get in that respect.

But the 'follow on' series that has transpired out of their success is - for me - more of a pleasure to watch. The 'DIY' programmes feature a number of different chateau owners - and both the owners and their properties are diverse; in some cases clueless idealists and in others, deep pocketed, experienced  business men and women. Inbetween, a large number of ordinary people who have decided to live extraordinary lives, and all of them having a vision of the possibility of  life lived with a little more grace and beauty, whatever we believe that to be. For many of them, it is, like myself, to find - and to restore to life and renewed pleasure - the hidden charms of the old, the faded, the long time used, the long time loved. You can catch a glimpse of all the DIY chateaux featured - and their owners - here

I believe there is another series with 'Dick and Angela' coming up - and my fingers are even more enthusiastically crossed for another series of 'EttC - DIY'. Until then, I'll be watching more of Stephanie's weekly Vlogs - a fantasy escape (for now - who knows what the future may bring ?!!), but she is also an inspiration to love what I already have and make the best of the particular and unique features of my own home and life, right here and right now. (I'm also now sharing these on Instagram, so I do hope you might consider joining me there for more frequent daily images of life in and around Autumn Cottage).

The 'Mediterranean terrace' -Tender plants & china chickens; no chateau sophistication here!

 

September Nights and Days and Harvest Moons

An Indian Summer here at the moment - and a few days off during the week to enjoy the last warm and golden days before Brother Frost arrives. We've made a few excursions on those holi-days, which I'll share in other posts - but today we are at home, just basking in the sun, pottering in the garden (and having our flu and pneumonia jabs at the local GPs surgery  - Oooh, ouch, ow!! )

A Harvest Moon last night - shining brilliantly as it has done for the last few nights. No photographs of the full moon…but here are some Visitors to the Night Garden that called in midweek.

During the day - collecting seeds and cutting back…not too much, so that insects can overwinter amongst the dead foliage, but just removing leaves with mildew or signs of other problems. Seed heads can be beautiful to look at over winter, really adding to the interest in the otherwise empty garden - especially with a frost on them. Multiplying plants by collecting seed is one of my abiding pleasures, though - so I am shaking out heads and using old herb jars to store the seeds. Some to sow immediately - some for next spring.

And then there is the matter of bulb planting…!!

 

Under the Harvest Moon

Under the harvest moon,

When the soft silver

Drips shimmering

Over the garden nights,

Death, the gray mocker,

Comes and whispers to you

As a beautiful friend

Who remembers.

 

Under the summer roses

When the flagrant crimson

Lurks in the dusk

Of the wild red leaves,

Love, with little hands,

Comes and touches you

With a thousand memories,

And asks you

Beautiful, unanswerable questions.

Carl Sandberg - 1878-1967

 

Journal prompt - What (thousand?) memories do you have of the summer that is now nearly past?

Gathering In

The days draw in as autumn falls. Golden, beautiful light during the day today - but warnings last night that the frosts are on their way - so the annual 'gathering in' of my tender plants has started. Nothing too severe expected, but it is time. First the Aeoniums - Mediterranean temperatures really required and definitely no frosts. I've been rather too successful at propagating these (the variety in the photograph above is 'Schwartzkopf') - so now I have rather too many - not that I'm complaining as I love them - but I'm having difficulty in finding them a home!

All the Pelargoniums are coming in as well - one by one - from the choice and very tender scented leaved plants to the very 'common or garden' red show-offs, of which I take numerous cuttings in the spring to just fill a number of pots and scatter them around the garden. They give a blast of colour to anywhere that is in need of some. The trailing impatiens has also blazed away in the big terracotta urn - again a rather vulgar colour - but a great 'doer' under the shade of the Cotinus. The Impatiens is VERY tender and will almost liquefy at first frost - so I have taken three pots of cuttings to over winter…and yes, they have all 'taken' - so I have to fit those in as well.

The sunlight is particularly beautiful when shining through the vine over the pergola - it always entrances me - and I know that if I want more vine plants…the branches have probably dipped down into the guttering and rooted there. It will all be cut back after the leaves fall - so then we shall see!

Journal prompt - What have you been propagating - in your garden, or in your life? What do you need to gather in before winter? What do you have that needs some tender care?

Who Did the Poo?!!

We get a number of nocturnal visitors to Autumn Cottage garden, who leave their calling card - in the form of their droppings - dotted around and about. There was one such prominent 'set piece' in the middle of the garden yesterday; about 1.5 cm in diameter and filled with undigested seeds. I had my suspicions as to whom the remains belonged - but the evidence was incontrovertable after setting up the trap-camera and leaving it out overnight. This was our nocturnal guest - fossicking about and hoovering up the remnants of the pheassie food!

A young 'un, I think - and as far as I can tell, reasonably healthy. I've only captured a brief shot here, but I think there could be more if I put out some 'tasty morsels'. I knew that the catfood that Pip refuses to eat would come in handy sometime!

The droppings left behind are rarely unpleasant, and an excellent aid to identifying various species. There's a useful guide here for UK readers - and as we move deeper into Autumn and Winter, I'll be hoping for more 'photo captures' of other creatures that have made this garden their visiting patch or more permanent home.