Round the garden in 80 days #16

At last, autumn work of substance is under way in the garden!

Before we went out yesterday, I took the plunge and removed the French beans that had been growing in a spot by the pond. Perhaps the snails had had their fill, as over the last week or so more flowers had appeared and it was a shame to take them out before they’d had chance to grow into pods.

However, I wanted to move the hosta from the other side of the pond while it was still visible above ground. As has already been mentioned in previous posts, the weather has been so mild, apart from some slug damage, the plant still looks like it did during the summer.

This ensemble looks most pleasing. Unfortunately, it is in the way of a path I would like to construct next to the pond. This area was supposed to be a bog garden but in spite of the lining under the soil, it still dried out like the rest of the garden.

Talking of soil, I’d mulched the spot where the French beans were growing by the pond and here the soil looks to be in good condition. No doubt it will always dry out easily with the soil being sandy loam but I’m not used to seeing such quality in my little patch. It’s heartening to observe that the last year or so of compost-making is starting to pay dividends, not least because it was almost effortless to make the hole for the hosta to go in.

I could hardly believe how big the hosta’s root system has got in just one year. Just as well it is now housed with more space than it had in the ill-fated bog garden.

The hosta in its new home between the dogwood and the fern. With less sun, it may have bluer leaves (it is a Halcyon) than it has shown on the sunnier side of the pond.