November Gardeners blog
November
November is a very messy month but it has its charm. The trees change colour and look very pretty in their rustic tones, but sadly the show is over all too quickly and when the leaves start to fall then, for us, the battle begins. If there is the slightest breeze when trying to blow them in to piles, the job can take a long time. It’s like trying to herd butterflies! No sooner have you got them into a mound to pick up they are floating off again, very annoying but funny for anyone watching.
But on the flip side, this month we have also been doing a job that I love. Digging up herbaceous plants, splitting them and replanting in other places, this to me is proper gardening. I find the job soooo satisfying as one plant that probably cost a fiver turns into 3 or 4 more that have cost nothing except a little bit of time and effort and next year there will be even more to split and more money to be saved. Then there is the wait and the anticipation of how it will all look next summer which I also enjoy, I’m not a fan of this instant gardening on the telly.
The Rudbeckia (yellow daisy looking plant with a black centre) and the Leucanthemum (white fluffy daisy) which are planted on Loftus Square now have clumps dispersed around Loftus. We’ve also been dividing other bits and bobs and I’ve brought in surplus plants from my own garden, our goal is to eventually have every square inch of soil covered in plants which will supress the weeds, encourage wildlife and look amazing. Everyone Loves Loftus as it looks now but every year that goes by it grows bigger and better.
The long awaited replacement plants that died from phase 3&4 have been promised very soon and should be planted in time for Christmas so the play park is going to look transformed too.
The builders are back to finish off all the snags and sort out the bollards in Loftus Grove which means that after on 5 long years of blood, sweat and tears, Loftus will be finally finished. I was here from the start when Loftus was nothing but a big patch of mud and to be part of its development, from then to the end result, has been a truly fantastic experience.
The next stage is not just us keeping it maintained to the highest of standards but getting every one living at Loftus to appreciate how lucky they are to live in such a beautiful place and to get on board with keeping their own little bit of loftus tidy too. We really appreciate those who do look after their front gardens and we want to encourage more people to make an effort. Pobl will be pestering those who don’t mow their grass and pull out their weeds, is it really that much to ask?
