The garden in fall

The garden in fall is different than the garden in summer, in July, when the garden is at its best, flowers, hot days, bright sunlight, shade under the apple tree, a slight breeze, birds at the bird bath, lush grass. There is a special quality to a garden in fall, not a "fall garden", no one plants a garden for the fall. There is now a calm, the flowers have mostly died and only a few dead flowers and leaves remain; no new flowers until next spring or summer. It is a cliche, but there is a meditative calm to the garden now even though there is still fall work to be done, rake leaves, move a few perennials, tidy up the flower beds, prepare the garden for winter and for next spring, say goodbye. You sit there in the garden, it is the remnants of what was there a month ago, no longer lush, no longer young, it the seasonal old age of the garden and next will be the quiescence and conclusion of things which is winter.

These photos taken on 30 September 2022.

"October Song" by The Incredible String Band

 

Dividing and planting hostas

A perennial is like a daughter, you have her for life; an annual is like a son, you have him until he finds a wife. Not the greatest analogy but you get the idea, assuming you know the old adage, “A daughter is a daughter all of your life; a son is a son until he takes a wife.” Of course, some sons keep their old parents in mind, my uncles phoned their mother every weekend, some phoned everyday, and my Uncle Alex visited his mother every Sunday and took her for a drive. Had it been my uncle's father instead of his mother, maybe he wouldn't have visited as often. Mothers are the center of the family, fathers often peripheral. But fathers can have other relationships, a second or third wife, or a girlfriend, or friends or acquaintances, or a dog or cat or a goldfish. 

And in gardening we have perennial plants, they return every year. That is part of the beauty of perennials, you aren't planting a new garden every year, the old garden comes back to life in the spring. And when your perennials get big enough you might want to divide them and move some of them to other places in your garden. I have a really nice row of hostas in the back of the garden, divided and planted last fall, and they helped to pull the garden together. 

This hosta, in the photo, is in our front garden, and it had to be moved because I am planning to have some work done to the front of the house; this is how easy it is to dig up and divide hostas. It takes all of a minute or two to dig up the plant, it has a large root ball, and then divide it into three parts, that's what I did. And then I planted the three "new" hostas in different parts of the garden behind the house. After the work on the front of the house is done I have four other hostas I plan to divide and plant in an area that needs some upgrading... but that might have to wait until late October or even early November, still time enough to do this work, and other gardening, before winter comes in December.

Planning to divide these hostas next

"Sunlight on the Garden" by Louis Macneice

 

The sunlight on the garden
Hardens and grows cold,
We cannot cage the minute
Within its nets of gold;
When all is told
We cannot beg for pardon.

Our freedom as free lances
Advances towards its end;
The earth compels, upon it
Sonnets and birds descend;
And soon, my friend,
We shall have no time for dances.

The sky was good for flying
Defying the church bells
And every evil iron
Siren and what it tells:
The earth compels,
We are dying, Egypt, dying

And not expecting pardon,
Hardened in heart anew,
But glad to have sat under
Thunder and rain with you,
And grateful too
For sunlight on the garden.

(It's an interesting poem, a very good poem. We have four stanzas of six lines each. The last word of the first line rhymes with the first word of the second line; the last word of the second line rhymes with the first word of the fourth line; and the last word of the first line rhymes with the last word in the sixth line. Plus, stresses and feet of the poem are adhered to. And after all of that, the poem communicates with the reader.) 

"The Shepherd's Calendar - October", by John Clare

Nature now spreads around in dreary hue
A pall to cover all that summer knew
Yet in the poets solitary way
Some pleasing objects for his praise delay
Somthing that makes him pause and turn again
As every trifle will his eye detain
The free horse rustling through the stubble land
And bawling herd boy with his motly band
Of hogs and sheep and cows who feed their fill
Oer cleard fields rambling where so ere they will
The geese flock gabbling in the splashy fields
And quaking ducks in pondweeds half conseald
Or seeking worms along the homclose sward
Right glad of freedom from the prison yard
While every cart rut dribbles its low tide
And every hollow splashing sports provide
The hedger stopping gaps wi pointed bough
Made by intruding horse and blundering cow
The milk maid tripping on her morning way
And fodderers oft tho early cutting hay
Dropping the littering forkfulls from his back
Side where the thorn fence circles round the stack
The cotter journying wi his noisev swine
Along the wood side where the brambles twine
Shaking from dinted cups the acorns brown
And from the hedges red awes dashing down
And nutters rustling in the yellow woods
Scaring from their snug lairs the pheasant broods
And squirrels secret toils oer winter dreams
Picking the brown nuts from the yellow beams
And hunters from the thickets avenue
In scarlet jackets startling on the view
Skiming a moment oer the russet plain
Then hiding in the colord woods again
The ploping guns sharp momentary shock
Which eccho bustles from her cave to mock
The sticking groups in many a ragged set
Brushing the woods their harmless loads to get
And gipseys camps in some snug shelterd nook
Where old lane hedges like the pasture brook
Run crooking as they will by wood and dell
In such lone spots these wild wood roamers dwell
On commons where no farmers claims appear
Nor tyrant justice rides to interfere
Such the abodes neath hedge or spreading oak
And but discovered by its curling smoak
Puffing and peeping up as wills the breeze
Between the branches of the colord trees
Such are the pictures that october yields
To please the poet as he walks the fields
Oft dames in faded cloak of red or grey
Loiters along the mornings dripping way
Wi wicker basket on their witherd arms
Searching the hedges of home close or farms
Where brashy elder trees to autum fade
Each cotters mossy hut and garden shade
Whose glossy berrys picturesquly weaves
Their swathy bunches mid the yellow leaves
Where the pert sparrow stains his little bill
And tutling robin picks his meals at will
Black ripening to the wan suns misty ray
Here the industrious huswives wend their way
Pulling the brittle branches carefull down
And hawking loads of berrys to the town
Wi unpretending skill yet half divine
To press and make their eldern berry wine
That bottld up becomes a rousing charm
To kindle winters icy bosom warm
That wi its merry partner nut brown beer
Makes up the peasants christmass keeping cheer
While nature like fair woman in decay
Which pale consumption hourly wastes away
Upon her waining features pale and chill
Wears dreams of beauty that seem lovely still
Among the heath furze still delights to dwell
Quaking as if with cold the harvest bell
The mushroom buttons each moist morning brings
Like spots of snow in the green tawney rings
And fuzz balls swelld like bladders in the grass
Which oft the merry laughing milking lass
Will stoop to gather in her sportive airs
And slive in mimickd fondness unawares
To smut the brown cheek of the teazing swain
Wi the black powder which their balls contain
Who feigns offence at first that love may speed
Then charms a kiss to recompence the deed
The flying clouds urged on in swiftest pace
Like living things as if they runned a race
The winds that oer each coming tempest broods
Waking like spirits in their startling moods
Fluttering the sear leaves on the blasting lea
That litters under every fading tree
And pausing oft as falls the pattering rain
Then gathering strength and twirling them again
The startld stockdove hurried wizzing bye
As the still hawk hangs oer him in the sky
Crows from the oak trees qawking as they spring
Dashing the acorns down wi beating wing
Waking the woodlands sleep in noises low
Pattring on crimpt brakes withering brown below
While from their hollow nest the squirrels (pop)
Adown the tree to pick them as they drop
The starnel crowds that dim the muddy light
The crows and jackdaws flapping home at night
And puddock circling round its lazy flight
Round the wild sweeing wood in motion slow
Before it perches on the oaks below
And huge black beetles reveling alone
In the dull evening with their heavy drone
Buzzing from barn door straw and hovel sides
Where fodderd cattle from the night abides
These pictures linger thro the shortning day
And cheer the lone bards melancholy way
And now and then a solitary boy
Journeying and muttering oer his dreams of joy

Bee hives near here

Here is the single bee hive behind Mountainview School. My impression is that the bee hive was placed here for educational purposes, but I didn't see any children in the area so I am probably wrong about this. The bee keeper made some honey, and now the hive will be relocated to where he winters his hives. I really enjoyed seeing the bees, it reminded me of when I had a dozen or so bee hives where I lived in the country; it reminded me of two friends, George Johnston and Reg Skinner, who helped get me into bee keeping. 

Walking along the hidden trail

The hidden trail is accessed under the Westminster Bridge, not far from here. Despite loving nature, or what is left of nature in the city, I rarely walk on this trail. An article published on 19 September 2022, "A natural path to dealing with depression", states that getting out for a walk and being in nature is beneficial for one's emotional and physical health. Those getting out of the house and walking in nature will be more physically and healthy-minded for it; any walking is better than not walking at all. The curious thing about this trail is that you meet so few people on it, I think today's walk was exceptional, I passed three people and two dogs. You know, if you can get out and walk an hour a week, or a little more than that, and you can lose five pounds, which is almost impossible for most people, you can actually lower both your blood sugar level and your cholesterol level. Doing anything is better than doing nothing at all...

On Percival Avenue

 

Always walk where it is aesthetically pleasing, it's depressing otherwise. And walk for health, it's not sight-seeing, it's staying alive and healthy, so keep it brisk! Brave words but something I aspire to follow... 

Here we are leaving Strathern Park--I don't live in the Town of Montreal West, it is adjacent to where I live--but I like walking here. Then it's a left on Percival Avenue and, for the second year, coming across these cosmos flowers. Cosmos are not perennials but they are self-seeding and quite prolific. They are the garden cosmos, the Mexican aster. One day walking on Percival I remembered that my mother's doctor was Dr. Percival, a woman doctor. Strange how things come back to you, by association or by chance.

It's fall now and the birds are flying south

Things began to change a few days ago. It wasn't one or two birds visiting the bird bath, it was ten or twelve birds, most of them robins. Up to this time the birds were always, shall we say, polite? Well-behaved, considerate, they queued up, sat in the bird bath, and left. A few days ago the "politeness" was gone, they were bossy, assertive, and pushy. I suspect they were preparing for the long flight south, a last visit to the bird bath and then off they went. We've had some heavy rain this week, Wednesday was the last full day of summer, it's gotten a lot cooler, and the bird bath now sits empty. 

A Tiny Garden Near Here

I often walk by this garden on the corner of Nelson and Westminster Avenue, and I always admire it. Every house has a garden and many of these gardens are very nice, but I have not seen people stop to admire other gardens as they do for this one. This past weekend there was an article in the newspaper on the "tiny garden", and this would qualify as tiny. I think of my garden as small but it is large compared to this. The owners must be proud of what they have created.

 

Vincelli's Garden Centre, two

Here are the rest of the photos I took of Vincelli's Garden Centre, closed two years, gone back to nature, soon to be the site of a condo.