Sleepy time

Frosty grass in the morning, visible breath, and a reluctant Vlad at the door: the three sure signs that we’re slipping gently into winter. Winter, the season of temporary plant death, the season of deep sleep for the fruit trees we ordered but have yet to receive, and, generally speaking, the season of rest after a good year’s work.

You wouldn’t guess by looking at it but this is our persimmon tree. It suffered alongside all others during the summer and yet it delivered a rich crop of fruit that we have yet to pick. Yes, they’re tiny but there are many of them. Next summer, we’ll be more diligent with the watering of the trees we assumed have roots deep enough to cope on their own. Until then, it’s time for a much deserved rest and hopefully some snow.

Perhaps the most photogenic tree in our garden, the pomegranate also did well this year and it wasn’t even bothered by the heat. We normally eat about a quarter of what the tree produces because eating a pomegranate takes effort but we are motivated to try after the tree went to the effort of making the fruit.

There is something very wintery about pomegranates on a leafless tree. They’re like a stamp on the end of autumn, a sign saying “Yep. Wintertime ahead.” Incidentally, we found a tiny pomegranate sapling on the other side of the house, in a patch of ground where almost nothing grows because the rains rarely reach it. We probably owe it to some well-fed bird.

Another strong performer in this year’s gardening show, the quince hasn’t even started shedding its leaves yet, possibly waiting for us to pick the fruit and turn it into jelly, so it can close shop for the year.

The late beetroot experiment is about to be logged in as successful. Despite the morning frost, the leaves are still pretty much alive, so we just tucked them in with a blanket of leaves graciously provided by the walnut tree above the patch and will let them grow for a week or so more.

The mint we struggled to get started from seed and then imported some from the neighbours has settled in and is doing really well, also tucked in for the winter but not about to go to sleep. We had no idea mint was front-resistant but it appears to be. The walnut leaf blanket might help.

There’s always one, isn’t there? And in our garden, it’s always a potato for some reason. This guy was planted last year as part of plans for a second crop. It sprouted in November 2023 and now it’s sprouted again despite all the spring digging we did before the first planting. It won’t make it but top marks for trying.

Okay, this year, there are two. All the other courgette plants are dead and dry but not this guy. This guy is defying the frost, the cold, the wind, and the rain, and trying to produce fruit. It’s really quite educational and inspiring. If a courgette can do it, what’s stopping the rest of us from trying and trying again?

If this was a painting, we’d call it “Change of the guard”. A perfect summary of this time of the year.