Bealtaine Cottage, Ireland
One Woman, Three Acres.
Winter is here, though it’s hard to believe! Flowers continue to bloom and leaves remain in the process of changing colour. Bowls of apples in the cottage create a sense of Autumn.
Vibrant colours create a different garden, a very seasonal garden thanks to the many trees! The Sedum keeps its shape, despite the small frost that has attempted destruction of these tender-stemmed plants.
Perlagoniums send forth small flowers, protected from the worst of the elements by the warmth of the window-sill. These will be collected up soon and stored in a corner of the little barn, until March, when I shall move them into the tunnel in readiness for the summer.
An Autumn garden is a tree garden, for this is the season when the quiet, sturdy, soldiers of Earth have their very own festival…a final fling of a party before bed!
Even the stems of the young trees join in, merging colours with the falling leaves!
Can you see the little mushroom to the left of Che-Mousey? The earth under many of the trees is bringing forth all kinds of mushrooms!
The coppiced tree is a Hazel…they do very well from being coppiced and grow tall, straight Hazel poles. I use these in the vegetable beds for beans.
The air is still and warm this morning and I’m reminded of the storm hitting the Philippines at this time. The radio tells me that this is the strongest storm ever! I wish safety to all caught up in this impending disaster! Despite the debate that hangs in the corporate media about Climate Change, there is, most definitely, Weather Change!
Che-Mousey has become my constant companion since Missy passed on. His personality becomes more apparent to me, as I get to spend time with him. He was always a very shy cat, but has recently blossomed and I am delighting in seeing the change in him!
I really should write something here, but am simply staring at the colours and sipping coffee!
Fennel seeds by the veranda this morning.
And a warm winter cottage thanks to trees!
Reblogged this on Bealtaine Cottage ~ Home of Goddess Permaculture, Hope and Healing and commented:
A vintage post…
Thanks for the reminder to cut back the trees. I have several Salix sitchensis (Sitka Willow) growing nearby ready to be cut, split and made into various project. If I don’t top them, they will grow to 40 feet! Since you are an adventurous soul, I shall send you some. I hope the seeds I sent last year did well for you. Abundant Blessings! Eric in Portland, OR.
Good morning Eric, from a fabulously sunny west of Ireland! It’s good to be alive! The seeds are now little pine trees and doing very well, slow but steady! I bet Oregon looks spectacular in the Fall and early winter…
The willow sounds interesting…yet another one I haven’t encountered!
I wish the weekend good for you X
Blessings, Colette
Nice pile of wood , reminds me of a saying. Wood warms you three times, 1st when your collecting, 2nd when your cutting, 3rd when your burning. Enjoy . Love your site I’ve been following for 1 year now tis a breath of fresh air , thanks ,Michael in cork.
Thanks Michael…that’s a little bit of wisdom!
Blessings from Bealtaine X
The garden is peaceful at this time of year. The great rush to flower and set fruit is over, and what a year it has been for sheer abundance of fruit, I have only just stopped bottling and freezing apples and there are still some on the trees.
I read somewhere that children used to eat the seeds of Sweet Cicely as sweets. I picked some this morning, and tried them. They taste of aniseed, and you just nibble at them. They are spectacular looking seeds. The whole plant is edible and it can be used for sweetening fruit. I intend to plant some seeds and hopefully get a few more plants.
When I was in York a few weeks ago, I came across a very attractive small tree covered in deep red fruit looking like cherries. It was growing in the gardens of the York Museum. I didn’t know what it was and eventually posted a photo of it on iSpot and the boffins there soon came up with the answer. It was a Cornelian cherry, or Cornus Mas, a dogwood. If you were thinking of growing more trees, it would be a marvellous addition to a permaculture garden. Only problem is it takes a few years to fruit.
Sweet Cicely is indeed a lovely herb to grow and very easy too! Cornelian Cherry does look spectacular when in fruit…there is one growing not too far from here in a lavish garden near Boyle. Just waking outdoors at this time of year is so uplifting! You mention York…I used to spend weekends there years ago. The train to York actually stopped at Alexandra Palace and I was able to walk from my house to the station and nip off for the weekend! Beautiful York!