On the third day of December two turtle doves came calling. The weather has turned cold and the light, oh so subtly, has changed to a wintery glow. Heavy skies and mists are to be enjoyed as the last of the gardening jobs are completed. Last year’s leaf mould was emptied out around the gooseberry bushes. The drop in temperatures encouraged a few more leaves to loosen their grip and also made it abundantly clear to me that the agapanthus really must be wrapped up this weekend. Here’s six things from the garden this week.
One
It was my ambition this year to grow some cyclamens from seeds collected from the garden. As always I completely missed the moment but nature has obliged with a few self seeders. I am sure they are doing better than any I might have collected. Once again I thank SOS for making me look closely at the garden every week.
Two
As you may have noticed a mushroom is photo bombing the cyclamen. Yet more were found in various spots around the garden. Nature does it own thing again.
Three
The pellies were despatched to their winter quarters last week, making space in the pots for some winter bedding. A layer of ‘Dolls Minuet’ tulips was the first step and then four bellis daisies topped off each pot.
Four
The last place in my grasses spotlight goes to hakonechloa macra, so much more easily remembered as hak mac. Again only planted out this year, so it will be a few years before they truly bulk up. This one is planted in a very shady spot and I have used others to fill pots that stand on concrete access points to the soak away that runs down the side of the garden. Those are an experiment, but I am persuaded that they will grow in pots for a few years at least.
Five
Last week I spotted a fox eating the windfall figs, but there will be slim pickings now. Here’s one that has rotted on the tree, looking rather like an early Christmas bauble. Taking off those that haven’t ripened is another job to do in the coming weeks.
Six
It seems to me that the leaves have stayed on the trees for longer this year. This week it was the turn of the oak leaves to fall and as the weather looks dry for the weekend there will be another sweep of the lawn with the mower to collect and shred leaves.
What a relief it is that the rain seems to have gone away. Cold weather and frosts seem much more preferable. I’ve dug out the winter gardening fleece and am set to go for a few more weeks. Who know’s what can be found for next week’s six but I’m sure there will be something to reflect on as the year winds down. I happily refer you to Garden Ruminations where Jim hosts the links to the SOS gardening blogs from around the world and inspires us all with such a variety of plants. For me, this week it is the marvellous pea seedlings!
n20gardener 
I shall forever refer to that grass as hak mac ________________________________
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So much simpler!
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Great shot of the fig. How do you cover your agapanthus?
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I use enviromesh fleece 30gsm and folded in half. I use washing line pegs to secure the fleece. The environment fleece lasts longer and doesn’t collapse into papery flakes at the end of winter. I rate it. I only wrap my evergreen agapanthus that I grow in pots. The deciduous aggies that grow in the borders are left to their own devices.
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Very nice successful photo of the fig covered with mold. I had seen something like this a few days ago and wanted to take a picture of it, but you beat me to it. It’s a completely autumnal Six that you wrote to us today with the leaves, the mushrooms and the colours that go with it. I love these cyclamen leaves
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It did feel very autumnal but that cold snap is coming next week. Minus temperatures overnight forecast. I’ve wrapped the aggies now!
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Mine are too. All plants are now safe in some way but the most tender ones will likely suffer from the cold even with a fleece. That’s the game
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I love that photo of the oak leaves.
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It’s great how simple combinations give wonderful effects. Mindfulness in action!
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You have a nice range of mushrooms. Sign of a healthy soil with all those mycorrhizal networks spreading under ground. Great pic of the mouldy fig, it does look Christmasy!
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I love the variety of mushrooms that appear. Always fascinating.
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I agree with you about the leaves staying on the trees longer, there’s still a lot of autumn colour around here. The mouldy fig is a great picture.
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I felt bad about having mouldy figs on the tree but it did look so wonderful!
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Is that Cyclamen coum? Common Cyclamen persicum is the only sort that I have ever worked with. I enjoyed it as a perennial when I was a kid, so find it difficult to discard as an annual now. I eventually want to get some Cyclamen hederifolium from a neighbor, so that I can let it grow almost wild.
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I completely lose track over which cyclamen is which. I think these are hedifolium but I won’t promise anything! They did flower earlier. I think the coums flower around this time of year.
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I do not know, but it seems to me that Cyclamen hederifolium is more variable than Cyclamen coum, and can resemble Cyclamen coum, although it tends to exhibit more intricate foliar patterns, such as these.
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Well you found some interesting things in your garden this week. As you say, Six on Saturday really makes us look. I love all the different fungi.
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