Sunday, September 13, 2015

Fall is in the air....

The season is changing...from summer to Fall.
We can feel it in the air...and in the garden.
The limelight hydrangeas are turning from lime to pink which they do every year at this time.




The colchiums are blooming


Mr. HB and I have been busy in The Humble Bungalow Garden.
The grass in our backyard had never been very good and after trying for over 30 years to make it look decent we decided that we would splurge and have it professionally redone. The company we hired came in and dug out all the old grass and weeds and levelled out the area, top dressed it with soil and laid down some lush green sod.
Our job now is to keep it watered until the roots are established and then maintain it.


The area marked off with string is where our greenhouse is going to be located.
We are eager to grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and a variety of vegetables.


Two raised beds were moved from this location
nearer to the asparagus bed.


I made an easy dinner ~ a hearty beef and vegetable stew.
This recipe is based on one of Mr. HB's Mother's recipes.
She called it "Little Stew."


Saute onions, diced carrots, green peppers in oil until soft.
Use any vegetables that you have on hand.
Add in ground beef and beef stock.
Season with salt, pepper, and a few dashes of worchestershire sauce.
Add in some chopped potatoes...I used yams and russets.
Simmer for at least an hour.


About 15 minutes before serving add in frozen green peas.
This is especially nice served with a soft loaf of bread.
Comfort food.


Sunday morning we had a lazy start to our day.
I savoured a bowl of coffee with foamed milk and leisurely browsed the pages of Country Living UK.


Chester kept me company...
he found a sunny spot


and promptly fell asleep.

He has taken to sleeping on "my" Morris chair so I sit in Mr. HB's chair while Mr. HB opts for the linen sofa in the family room.


We cut back some of the roses...
Jude the Obscure is quite vast and is very shapely so we left it alone.

Some of the roses were far too large and some needed deadheading.
It's almost time to put the garden to bed for the winter.

We planted broccoli, brussell sprouts, garlic chives and parsley in our raised bed.
Lots of time spent in the garden this weekend.
We didn't get much else done.


I couldn't resist bringing in a few rose hips inside as they are really quite pretty in their own right.

"Every season hath its pleasures:
Spring may boast her flowery prime,
Yet the vineyard's ruby treasures
Brighten Autumn's soberer time.
So life's year begins and closes;
Days, though shortening, still can shine;
What, though youth gave loves and roses,
Age still leaves us friends and wine."

~ Thomas Moore ~
(1779–1852)
"Spring and Autumn"

20 comments:

Stephen Andrew said...

It really felt like fall here this weekend, too! I'm in heaven. So happy to embrace the cooler weather. Love seeing the cats enjoying their chairs!

Susan B said...

What a lovely poem! We've been having a heat/humidity wave for the last week, am SO ready for a few cooler days that are supposed to roll in tomorrow.

Unknown said...

Love the choice of the final quotation!

KSL said...

So hot and humid here, no sign of fall at all. Your lawn looks glorious, and since you get rain, you should be able to maintain it easily. All this heat, and years of drought have caused so many horrible fires in California, as I'm sure you know. Hope El Nino comes as predicted.

LPC said...

A greenhouse! So exciting. And I love the rose hips inside.

Marilyn said...

Autumn is definitely with us in the UK. Misty, drizzly rain and a chill in the air. We are enjoying a September break and not forgetting our garden back in the North of England. Plants have been bought for a new border, not enough to fill it but a start. Sticking with Autumn colours of rusty red and purple, leaving the pastels and primaries for Spring and Summer planting. Enjoy your new lawn it looks super.

La Vie Quotidienne said...

The back garden is great! It looks like you have planned out every detail...from potager to greenhouse...and oh! how I am envious of all that lovely green grass! You live in the best gardening climate outside of England, if I had a choice I would move up there in a minute.

Susan said...

When I read a post like this one---I find myself envying your life! I always love the changing of the seasons.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Pets know that they are our family and make themselves right at home!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I saw your FB post with those raindrops!
Hooray!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I thought it summed up the theme...more eloquently than I could have penned.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I have been watching the news about the fires...it's been a hot summer here too and lots of wildfires. I heard that you might be getting rain this week....fingers crossed.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

My father had a green house and grew amazing tomatoes. We would have them almost until Christmas...I am so excited that our growing season will be extended into the fall and winter.
Your OOTD post is fun today!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Hi Marilyn,
Planning is half the fun and you are wise to take a break before getting back into the hard work of digging and planting a new border. Your new colour scheme sounds wonderful.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I saw something on the news this summer that I found amusing...
there is a local business man who sprayed the dried up straw coloured lawns green using a vegetable dye. It looked quite nice actually...
If you ever come up this way I'd love to take you around and show you some of the wonderful gardens in our area.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

My life is simple...I try to write honestly and not embellish or exaggerate.
Life has many gifts and good things and there is reason to be thankful and rejoice.
I envy others too...life often looks greener on the other side.

Marilyn said...

Thank you. Our break is in the Cotswolds, a beautiful area in the middle of England, with lots of lovely gardens and National Trust houses to visit. The weather is distinctly autumnal with misty mornings and sadly plenty of rain!

No Sacrifice Bags said...

I'm looking forward to seeing you greenhouse.
I envy your gardening passion. I love beautiful gardens; but I have no desire to tend them.

Connie said...

Your yard looks wonderful as it shows all the work of your labors. We'll be putting in two boxes in the vegetable garden for next year and new garden paths. I wish I had beautiful roses as yours.

Karen said...

Hi Hostess
Love reading your blog but haven't commented for a while.
Your garden is looking good and a really exciting idea to have a green house.
Here in my part of Australia it's been the coldest longest winter I've known . Even the start of spring hasn't been much better. I too have been working in my garden after a couple of years of neglect with my husband being so sick ( he's been helping too ) it sorely needed it.
I retired from work this time last year to look after my husband must say I love not working.
My husbands on the mend now (although it will still be a little longer before he's 100% )
Now that the worrying is less I'm starting to get a new lease on life.
Time to access the wardrobe boy that's also suffered neglect. I enjoy the incites into your wardrobe choice's and find I'm referring to it often. Back out walking again it really makes a great start to the day.

Kind Regards