Tower and Town, October 2026 (view the full edition)Gardening: Putting The Garden To BedI hate putting the garden to bed. All the once colourful flowerpots around the garden are brought into the greenhouse to overwinter. Shrubs and hardy plants are pruned and some are left for “shape” over the winter months. II wouldn’t say I was a “natural gardener” but, more by luck than design, I have tried to create something of beauty which works in harmony with the area and soil type and is easy to look after and I’m still learning! I also cover the garden beds with a mix of Carol’s well rotted horse manure, compost from the household bins and the compost heap. This year we welcomed Luigi, our robotic mower. He has saved hours of mowing. Over the winter he will go into hibernation. My husband suggested that Luigi is “put to sleep”, I decided that was a bit drastic, so “hibernation” it is! Even he cannot cope with the chore of autumn leaves. We have a large shrubbery which mostly survives the frost pocket we live in. This requires lots of “hacking back” so we use our little trailer and motor up to the recycling centre on a regular basis. Now there is the added problem of climate change thrown into the mix. Our garden looked more like a desert with only spinach and beetroot surviving in the veg patch. We must learn to adapt to our seasons being different. Its a huge learning curve that we are presented with. Let’s hope it doesn’t prevent the glorious array of daffodils we have in the Spring. My husband and I have lived in our house in Ogbourne Maizey for 32 years with an acre of garden and beautiful views of the Marlborough Downs. We have a smaller front lawn with a border and a larger lawn which has hosted many memorable parties, our children’s weddings and numerous performances by the Miracle Theatre over the last 21 years! Indeed the lovely Catalpa (Indian Bean) tree was only a sapling when I sat next to it at our daughter’s 21st and now is a beautiful flowering tree of some 8 metres! But back to the present .... I’m off to trim the hedges now, and wish you happy Autumn gardening.  Marion Gordon-Finlayson |