November? Where did the autumn go?

October went by in a blur of holidays, family and work commitments and a fair amount of rain. All of which prevented me from doing much in the garden. I returned from holiday on 8th October to a garden which was full of the soft colours of autumn.

There were plenty of weeds too - particularly between the cracks in the paving. I quite like the way they soften the garden. I will have to get them out soon, but there's no hurry. The slabs themselves are not particularly attractive or well-laid. I wish I could get something like thyme to fill the cracks, but I've had no success with seeds.

There has been a lot of wind this week, and when I went out today, I found that my rose arch had come apart.

Fortunately, I was able to fit the pieces back together without too much trouble. The clematis which was growing up it had been looking quite dead, apart from a few green leaves. I took the opportunity to sort out the dead stems from the one remaining living stem and tie it back onto the arch. Hopefully it will grow strongly in the spring.

I finally managed to plant my tulips in pots today. I have planted:
2 pots of Black Parrot (deep purple, black and frilly)
2 pots of Flaming Parrot (yellow with red streaks, frilly)
2 pots of Red Shine (red, lily-flowered)
3 pots of Pieter de Leur (red, lily-flowered)
2 pots of National Velvet (deep crimson)
6 pots of Ballerina (orange, lily-flowered)

They are now in a sheltered corner, with wire mesh over the pots to keep the squirrel out. I enjoy watching the squirrel, and don't mind if he eats the bird food, but I draw the line at stealing tulip bulbs.

I have replenished my stock of bird seed for the winter. I am trying to attract a wider range of small birds by having a greater variety of food, so I have feeders full of niger seeds, sunflower hearts, peanut nibs, "woodland crumble" (which is a mix of seeds, insects and mealworms) and a "high energy, no mess" mix. I will see which are the most popular in my garden. I also have hanging fat feeders and tray feeders for dried fruit, cheese rind, dried mealworms and suet sprinkles. These are popular with starlings, pigeons and, occasionally, jackdaws, robins and blackbirds.

In September, I planted some bowls with bulbs and cyclamen. I am very happy at the way the cyclamen have grown and flowered well. They are a lovely shade of red, which is easy to see from the house even on dull wet days.