Autumn garden tidy

I'd kinda let the garden go a little bit. Of course, during my holiday and then after. I didn't look too bad, but the thunbergia and passion flower vine had taken over and needed cutting back. I did some hacking and garden maintenance this afternoon, since the weather was warmish and without the threat of rain- if a bit dull.

Measure twice, cut once
I also needed to ensure that my rain water diverter was working so that my water butt doesn't overflow and flood the back garden during heavy autumn and winter rains. I hadn't quite set it at the right level when I first installed it - and so when the water butt fills up, it flows over the top rather than backing up into the downpipe and away into the storm drains. That hadn't mattered much over the summer, since I usually kept the water butt drained in watering duty, but winter will be a different story. I even bought a new saw to tackle the job since the old one was a bit rusty and chewed rather than cut into the PCV drainpipe. If you watched PBS - you may remember the Old Yankee Workshop adage "Measure twice, cut once." I'm much more of a eye-up and keep cutting until it's about right kind of person. Sadly, this approach means that I no longer have a functioning drainpipe - and since I'd begun the job just before the stores shut due to Sunday trading laws in the UK - I couldn't run out and get new piping. Both sections - the one above and the one below the diverter are too short now - and not even duct tape would be able to remedy the situation now.

Root invader
I had been noticing that one pot of impatiens looked quite sad, but it is mid October, so I didn't think much of it. But when I went to pull them out - I discovered they'd been chewed off at the roots.



by grubs - though I don't know what kind



I had previously thought that impatiens were reliably resistant to most garden pests and diseases - and that's why, though common - I thought they were worth growing. I may need to rethink the strategy if the problem recurs next year. I looked around, and sadly this problem wasn't just in one pot - but had struck some of the impatiens in my beds as well.