In the Kitchen Garden, recent weather has been pretty wet. Rainfall in November was 230mm, about 9 inches, just above average for the month. There were few frosts, -2.4°C being the lowest grass temperature.
The fruit tunnels. All fallen leaves were collected to avoid disease. Not much to do till the spring.
Polytunnels. Most crops are now past though there are still a few cauliflower, broccoli, turnips and chard. The caulis are small but delicious.
The outdoor veg. I only grew a few sprouts and leeks this year and they are ok though there is some internal browning in the sprouts. Mice ruined lots of beetroot so I lifted those that were still good.
For more plant details see - This month in the garden at Ardtornish
Wildlife. Apart from seeing a white-tailed eagle in the distance, I have seen little though the weather has not been great. Most of the berries have been eaten and many of the birds have moved on.
Bird feeders. There are a few goldfinch, greenfinch and woodpeckers coming back to the feeders. Sparrows and chaffinches are still the main customers and there are quite a few blue, great and coal tits on every day. A feeder under the eaves was no deterrent to a sparrowhawk as it glided speedily in, snatched a bird then flew back out in a very fluid movement.
Here are some of my recent photos. Fuji S100fs
Left to right and top to bottom:-
"The Ardtornish Garden" by Faith Raven includes a short history of the Garden, with photographs of the people who have owned it and of the people who have worked in it and of the plants they grew. It describes the changing colours of the seasons in the Garden and how the work of the gardener has to fit in with the difficulties of the climate. Take a tour of the Garden using the detailed maps and see some of the best view points and the most interesting plantings.
Priced £10 including p&p "The Ardtornish Garden"
1st December, 2011.