I prepare for autumn and Tango gets an unwelcome visitor

Although we are still in full summer in Spain, your garden will soon start tipping over into autumn and you need to prepare. When you see the shops in Spain laying out their winter clothes then you know it is time.

Besides beginning to collect seeds – which I talked about in my last post – you also need to keep deadheading and start to prepare your soil etc. I will try to cover how to deal with some of the most common plants. But in the meantime Tango the lonely blind Labrador has had to have a visit from the Vet “to make arrangements”!

More of all this later, on with the happy stuff of gardening.

29th August 2025. Things I have been doing lately:

• Cutting back Osteospermum
• Tidying up Bird of Paradise
• Tango has a visitor

Cutting back Osteospermum. Osteospermum are a common Margeurite Daisy and are a mainstay of my flower beds and many other gardens in Spain. These adaptable perrenials are free flowering from February till December and provide bulk and presence in your borders. The photo below shows some of my borders with Osteospermum and Marigolds, and as you can see it has all become a bit blowsy.

When I cut back Osteospermums I want to do two things. Firstly, if possible to cut the plant right back to the last few leaves to see if it will regrow. But if it looks a bit dead I will take it out. Secondly, and most importantly I want to open to ground up to light so that the fallen Osteospermum seeds can begin to germinate.

The first photo below shows you the centre of the plants with potential to be cut back, look inside the marked area and you will see lots of new leaf growth.The second photo shows a plant with no future growth potential which I have taken out. The final photo shows where those with no potential end up – so take note.

The final photo shows the flower bed cutback and tidied up. But most importantly note that I have not hoed the ground between the plants. If I did this then I would disturb all the seeds waiting to germinate. Instead, I give the area a good watering both to encourage the cutback plants, and to bring on the seed germination. In a few weeks there will be hundreds of seedlings here.

Tidying up Bird of Paradise. Strelitzia Reginae is a much welcomed plant in Spanish gardens for its exotic looks and ability to form large clumps. When in full flower the plant can look stunning, but to keep it that way you have to do some essential work.

The first thing to do is stand back and take a long hard look at your plant before you decide what needs doing and how you a going to do it. The photo below show my Strelitzia and its problems. From this you can see that my cluster is in need of both sharpening up and tidying up.

The first thing to deal with is any flowers that have become untidy. Don’t be afraid of cleaning up the flowers by pulling back on dead growth to remove it from the flower. If you are deadheading completely then sometimes you will remove the stem right to the ground, but at other times look down the stem and if you see an angled area of growth, just cut there as it will encourage a new stem. See the photos below.

Next you need to work your way around the plant removing any old cutback stems. Sometimes you will need to cut these back with your secateurs, but at other times you can just pull them out by giving a tug. See photos below.

Finally, work your way methodically around the plant in a circle cutting out any growth you no longer require. Keep any eye out for potential new growth spurting from existing stems and cut diagonally just above them to encourage new shoots. See photos.

Finish off by making sure that you compost everything and thereby recycling this lovely plant. Don’t forget to feed. See photos.

Tango has a visitor. Tango the lonely blind Labrador is 17 years old. He is a miracle of determination and perseverance. Cruella (my wife) and I have had many Labradors, most of which have died at about 10-12 years. Despite his many ailments Tango has been a stalwart and has bravely carried on through every setback including being beset by Cruella’s chickens.

Unfortunately, Tango’s time may be coming to an end. We called the vet out to check him over, and it won’t be very long. When the vet had gone I assured Tango it was just a check up and there was nothing to worry about. But somehow he knew. He kept asking me would he be able to see in heaven and would his brother be there. I assured him on both counts. Finally he asked would there be chickens in heaven; I said definitely not – they are all in hell.