End of Month View: August Stumbles to a Close

August has been a strange month and although in parts of the UK has been particularly wet, here in the no-mans land between the East and West Midlands we have had rain throughout the month, but not in any great quantity, and it has been warm rather than hot Looking back, I am guessing this the reason behind the almost overwhelming growth in the garden, growth of annuals, perennials, shrubs  – and WEEDS!

For the first time ever, I found myself wondering if there might come a time when I was no longer able to ‘manage’ the garden, and whether downsizing might become a necessity at some point in the future. Common sense and realism prevailed, however, and I was able to remind myself that August didn’t generally generate quite as many maintenance tasks, and that the majority of tasks were seasonal anyway, with peaks and troughs throughout the year. Health, however, will always be a big unknown but otherwise the plan is to remain here till my final demise, when my ashes will join those of the Golfer and be spread on the garden (unless composting of bodies has become a viable economic option by then!).

Back to the present and the end of this unusual August. You can see from the usual first EOMV picture what I mean about the weeds – those on the paved area grieve me whenever I look out of the kitchen windows, and of course it is the hard surfaced areas where weeds are most visible…. However, I did hand-trim the streamside grass today, so it no longer looks quite as unkempt as it does on the picture below, although I still have to brush past wet leaves and stems when I pass the adjacent shrub border every day:

The woodland is ticking over and you can still make out the paths through it, although herb Robert is threatening to change