GARDENER'S WORD

I might be winding things down in the garden (today I removed all the old runner bean stems and tidied up a bit all the seeds and leaves falling from neighbouring ash trees) with a view to having a lazy winter ahead, but the birds are really busy.  The goldfinches, in particular, seem to be gorging themselves for the winter ahead.  They are such pretty little things and quite polite in waiting their turn.  Whatever seeds they drop, other birds, like the wood pigeons, happily clean up for me.  Goldfinches fattening up for winter - October 20, 2016 Goldfinches forming an orderly queue at the feeder

Autumn is here, the leaves are turning golden and falling, and I'm winding things down in my garden for the winter.  I hibernate in winter.  The hanging baskets filled with Swingtime and Southgate fuchsias have been simply grand, flowering from spring until now and they are still flowering and will probably do so until the frost kills them.  If I let the frost kill them, which I won't.  I have to keep dead heading, or at least picking off the seed pods which rapidly form as the flowers begin to fade.  It's been quite a job and if you don't catch the seed pods young, then you end up with something like you can see in the below images.   Fuchsia seed pod and leaf Fuchsia seed pod Fuchsia seed pod According to the seed people, Thompson and Morgan fuchsia seed pods are edible, along with a whole load of other flowers and seeds.  The RHS confirms that fuchsia seed pods are edible .

I know, I know, I've written about the wonders of the raspberry variety called Polka ad nauseam, but I cannot help myself.  I've grown Polka raspberry canes  for a few years and if there is one thing in my garden which has given consistent satisfaction, it is this raspberry.  After giving me bowlfuls of fruit this summer, this double-cropping variety is now giving me handfuls of jumbo raspberries.  Polka raspberries - autumn crop, 29 Sept 2016 Although my raspberry canes have suffered from white drupelet disorder , and attacks of rust disease , which is quite common with raspberries, apparently, the fungus has never affected the crop and each year the cane produce fruit that is almost perfect.  I've never seen an insect or insect larvae on the fruit, never seen mildew.  Of course, now I've said that I will have gone and put the mockers on it and I'll be singing a different song next year! http://gardeners-word.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/doubl...