October Reflections

This flower is blooming in a planter box near the shed at the back of the house. It has grown their itself, maybe dropped by the birds.
It is orange and has the look of a Marigold type flower. I love it when mystery plants start growing where you did not expect any!
Another example of that was the two Tomato plants that were growing by the sheds door.A bird must have dropped the seeds on the mud besides the concrete path. Two vigorous Tomato plants were growing away and producing masses of fruit. I took a volunteer tomato and have harvested the seeds from the fruit. The variety will be unknown, maybe tomato Dodworth? (our street name). I have cleaned the jelly off the seeds and are waiting for them to dry out on a side plate. They will be sown in March and hopefully I will have a greenhouse ready to grow the plants on. They were more productive, and shorter than all my other Tomato plants.
I grew Gardeners Delight, Alicante, Italian Plum, and a Mediterranean Beefsteak Tomato plant. They did not grow that well outside by the fence..
Its raining outside so I'm inside the house looking out. I saw the Goldfinches today on the sunflower heart feeders. They have been forming large flocks that sing and bounce their way around the sky.
I need a dry day to give the grass a final cut of the year. The Wildflowers around the pond are flopping around but are still in bloom. The border needs weeding and the Spring Bulbs added. I have compost forming in the bin, and the excess soil from the Potato grow bags.
I harvested around five pounds of Potatoes yesterday from two Potato Grow Bags. The excessive dry weather prevented a bumper harvest I think (I got five pounds from each grow bag for the last two years). That yield was half what I would have expected! We have been eating our Potatoes for weeks now all grown at the allotment or in our garden. There is still a good amount left. I hope that the Potatoes will last untill Xmas.
The grey Sky's and wet days give you a chance to reflect on the year, all the highs and lows. To start dreaming in earnest about the next growing season. This garden is still a work in progress. We only moved in this year believe it or not! It feels a much longer period of time with work, illness, and family problems.
Gardening is therapeutic for me. I love making the garden beautiful, and that other people can enjoy its benefit. Its much more than just getting exercise as you get outside to work in the garden. No matter what stresses you are under a walk around your little green patch can lift your spirits and make the troubles lift for a while. Sitting quietly in your green patch is akin to meditation.The rainy day has made me quite reflective.