Ready for Winter

The end of the year has been different to 2022 when the dahlias were almost flowering into November. Although Autumn has seemed later this year, the duller weather seemed to slow the dahlias down. I decided to try drying the dahlias - as so many others were doing on instagram. I can't say that I like them much. By the time I picked them for drying, they were probably passed their best. It was time consuming hanging them in the garage, and then as they dried they started falling out of the clutches of their wires.

I dug the dahlias up earlier as I really didn't want them to get too wet like last year. I have left about half in the ground - there's a lot to dig up and I felt that with enough mulch they should survive.

All the growing beds have been covered with Lakeland Gold to help enrich the soil for 2024 and are mostly covered in old carpet or black plastic which I have used for the last couple of years. The exceptions are the perennial bed, the bulbs and the biennials.

I have also collected the leaves - having shifted last years leaf mulch onto flower beds, I've filled the leaf compound.

All ready for wreath making now!