Garden Diary – An excellent week, bulb planting & Adam Frost!

On Monday last week I started planting my spring bulbs. I was planning to do some jobs in the house but then the sun came out and was so warm that I just couldn’t resist getting outside.

It really is one of my favourite jobs, and it fortunately comes at a time of year that I find quite depressing. It just feels like such an optimistic task, trusting that spring will come again and I’ll be here to enjoy it!

Could the week get any better?

Yes. Tuesday night was super exciting, as we went to see Adam Frost in Chester. I like lots of the well known gardeners and we’ve been so lucky over the years, having some real stars come and talk at our local horticultural society.

We’ve had Bob Flowerdew, Pippa Greenwood, Ann Swithernbank, Chris Beardshaw & Joe Swift which is quite a line-up!

They were all impressive and so informative, but if I was pushed and had to pick a favourite then it would be Adam.

When I first started watching Gardeners World presented by the late, great Geoff Hamilton (my gardening hero), Adam was would occasionally appear as a young lad. And we now know how this came to be. He was so interesting.

We heard about his difficult childhood, made much more bearable by the happy time spent with his grandparents, especially at the allotment with his granddad.

His falling into horticulture by gaining an apprenticeship with the parks department, then answering an advert to do some work at Geoffs garden.

His devotion to his wife and family and a brief description of the hell they went through with Covid.

Lots of laughs with hilarious anecdotes from his early working years about dodgy practices and one about his wife eating his first homegrown peach, that should have carried certificate X. Non of the audience will look at a peach in the same way again!

Finally, he moved on to talking about his current garden, which was so inspiring it made me want to rush home and start re-planting my own garden. An excellent evening!

Back to reality, October sadly means a slowing down in production and I’m down to the last few tomatoes, only harvesting them every few days now. The cucumbers though are still doing well, it’s one of the best cucumber seasons I’ve known. Add to this a few radishes and we can still make a salad.

Another down side to autumn is lots more spiders around. I am getting better with my arachnophobia, but it’s very deep rooted.

I spent more time in the garden last week, and I kept walking into webs, even across the pathways which I really don’t find very pleasant! I’ve taken to walking around with my arm up in front of me which must look rather odd! Well I have tried to make a wildlife garden, so….

Before planting my tulips I was looking back through some photos to see what I’d done in previous years and came across summer roses and lupins which I posted. I also found some photos of cosmos, which can’t believe I forgot to sow this year!
Having grown them when I first started gardening, I then stopped and didn’t grow them for many years. Rediscovering their simple beauty a few years ago and feeling sure they’d always be a feature in my late summer garden. Never mind I won’t forget next year!

Of course, I don’t have to look far before finding cat photos and videos (just like gardeners world), and I found one of the cats enjoying the sunshine. One in her usual laid-back, relaxed position watching on as the other one found a broken grass stem an irresistible toy.

They are both 18 and a half years old now, but still their personalities are completely opposite.

My year of bargain plants continued last Friday when I found two half price Salvias. Funny enough I’d just been reading about salvias and what a long flowering season they have, which is backed up with the few in my own garden.

It was as if they were waiting for me to bring them home. Which is what I told the gardeners mate 😁

All of my bargain plants have done well, one of the dahlias from a couple of months ago that I planted in the border, has just started flowering. It has the most amazing orange and yellow markings. Happiness is… new plants without breaking the bank!

Monday 6th October 2025

This is from October last year & is to remind me, to never forget to sow cosmos ever again! 🌿💕🌿🌸🌿💕🌿 #MagentaMonday #pinkflowers #bloomscrolling

Tuesday 7th October 2025

October is bulb planting month, 🌷🪻🌷🪻🌷all that anticipation! 🤗

I started yesterday in the beautiful warm sunshine. I tried a new idea of putting a layer of perlite under the bulbs for extra drainage. #bulbplanting #Gardening #springbulbs #TuesdayBlue

Very excited to be going to see Adam Frost tonight in Chester. He’s my favourite (living) gardener, only succeeded by the late, great Geoff Hamilton. Fill you in tomorrow 👩‍🌾🪴

Wednesday 8th October 2025

If you get chance to go & see Adam, grab it. His show is hilarious, informative & very moving. Really heartfelt.

A proper TOP guy! 🤗🪴🤗🪴🤗🪴🤗🐈‍⬛

#adamfrost #gardeners

Looking back to summer when roses & Lupins were blooming 🌿💕💜🌸

💜 ‘rhapsody in blue’

#rosewednesday

Thursday 9th October 2025

My arachnophobia has improved over the years, I can tolerate up to a 20p coin size now without turning to jelly 🕷️😱

I do so admire their web making 🕸️

#InsectThursday #spiders

Friday 10th October 2025

This sedum produces a green mound early on in the season. Then goes right through from the palest pink, to this deep, dark pink, finally leaving structural seed heads 🌿🌸💕🌿

Another easy peasy, good value perennial plant!

#FlowersOnFriday #pinkfriday #bloomscrolling

Not bad for a lunchtime haul in October 🌿🍅🥒🫜

The cucumbers are still going great guns. #gyo #salad #homegrown

Saturday 11th October 2025

I’ve had a good year for bargain plants. I picked up 2 half price salvias yesterday and this is a small dahlia that I rescued earlier in the year.

Good for my purse & saves a plant from certain death, after all the energy that’s gone into growing it 🌿🧡💛🌿

#rescueplants #dahlia

Just found this clip from a couple of years ago & it just sums up our now 18yr old cat’s personalities. One can’t resist playing whilst the other one looks on from a comfortable position.

I later found the grass trophy in the house 😸😽

#Caturday #CatsOfTwitter