Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
12th September 2026
Moths Win
A few weeks ago I wrote about the alarming amount of cob-webbage in my cottage and how it felt as though the cellar spiders were spinning and winning their take over bid. I have good news – whilst talking to one of my very wise clients last week, she told me about the problem she currently has with those horrible little carpet moths. Nodding in agreement and sympathy, I suddenly realised that I haven’t actually had the usual moth invasion this year. And guess what? Yes, cellar spiders eat moths. Hooray. Sort of.
As is often the case in nature, you have to decide between two not-so-brilliant options. I can confirm the spiders have won. This time. Based purely on the fact that they eat other pests and not my beautiful Welsh woollen blankets or the silk lining of the only really nice ‘posh’ coat I own (the one for funerals), the cellar spiders have had a reprieve.
A house-proud friend did try to trip me up by asking why not eradicate both the spiders and the moths but I haven’t got the time for all that, I’ve got far more important magical stuff to do.
Second Wind
Magical stuff which this week has included picking some lovely little ‘extras’ from the garden – mine and other people’s, with permission, of course. I have harvested, shared and eaten copious amounts of figs, field mushrooms, blackberries, hazelnuts, courgettes, plums, tomatoes, apples, pears and runner beans. After the constant watering of summer, it has been a delight to ‘eat out of the garden’ with such little effort.
Terry Walton is actually sowing some of this year’s runner bean seed to see if he can get another late crop this year. I admire his tenacity and positivity but I am content to pick what’s available, rather than ‘force’ my food at this time of year.
I am fully supportive of Terry’s endeavors though. Very often a ‘second wind’ will result in another crop of veggies later in the season and, similarly, by ruthlessly cutting back some of my wild geraniums I have now been rewarded with some healthy foliage and lots of buds which will bloom well before the frosts.
Pictured: A small selection of my weekly haul.
Cor-gette Surprise
Gardening is a great deliverer of surprises. Stephen Prothero recently showed me a perfectly round courgette that had appeared amongst the more traditional longer shaped ones on his allotment. Known as ‘spherical courgettes’, I thought he had tried a new variety but he said they had all come from the same packet of seeds. Stephen’s sister, Helen, (recipient of said spherical courgette) reported that it tasted ‘tender, juicy and her black Labrador, Seren, also enjoyed it amongst her roasted veg’. And that ladies and gentlemen, is the calibre of my friends – roasting vegetables for their dogs.
The spherical varieties make nice compact plants which are ideal for containerising and people think they look more eye-catching in the garden. Popular varieties include One Ball F1 (yellow) and Tondo di Nizza or Brice (mottled green).
They are described as being ‘denser than long courgettes, with a handy hollow centre, for ‘stuffed courgette recipes’.
I have started slicing courgettes thinly and adding to salads – they are a vegetable that often ripen ‘en mass’ or as a ‘glut’ and it’s always good to find different ways to use them. A quick browse through the ‘tinternet’, yields recipes like Cheesy stuffed rounds, courgette fritters and chips and even chocolate courgette loaf – and you can use any courgettes, whatever shape they are.
Pictured: Stephen’s spherical courgette.
Ex-seedlingly Exciting
I am always amazed at how quickly crispy brown lawns and verges green up after a drop of refreshing rain and am currently a little overawed by the enormous amount of weed seed that is carpeting any bare soil.
There is a swathe of the most verdant green seedlings growing rapidly on the side of a local lane, which I’m monitoring closely to see what they are going to mature into. I’ll let you know.
That’s how exciting life in nature can be.
Hello Autumn
Meteorological autumn always begins on 1st September and ends on 30th November as this definition divides the year into four exact seasons, each lasting three complete calendar months. Meteorological autumn therefore neatly consists of September, October and November and this system is used by meteorologists as it aligns neatly with annual temperature cycles, making it easier to compare weather and climate statistics between different years and seasons.
Astronomical autumn, on the other hand, begins with the autumn equinox, which usually falls on 22nd or 23rd September – and is the 23rd this year. During the equinox, the sun shines directly above the earth’s equator, resulting in day and night being nearly equal in length across the globe.
Unlike meteorological seasons, astronomical seasons are determined by the earth’s position in its orbit around the sun. Because the earth’s orbit is not perfectly uniform, the exact date of the equinox can vary by 24 hours each year.
For me, autumn begins when the tree leaves start turning colour and falling, the valleys are full of ‘Dragon’s Breath’ (or morning mist formed by a thin layer of tiny water droplets hanging just above the ground early in the morning), and the evenings see you reluctantly reaching for a fleece. Therefore, in my world, it is autumn.
It has been said that autumn is a second spring with every leaf turning into a colourful flower. I can see that’s a nice way to look at it but for me autumn is autumn with it’s very own assets. As one famous philosopher said, “Autumn is a time of hot chocolatey mornings, hot stew and soupy evenings, and, best of all, leaping into leaves!”
The philosopher? Winnie the Pooh, of course.
A Bitter Pill Made Easy to Swallow
And as a footnote, and as I am aware I am not the only person in the Old Dog Arena, navigating the last but most important and privileged chapter, I have promised to share anything I find ‘helps’ with doggy dotage.
The latest is Pill Pockets – a tasty weapon that avoids your beloved four-legged friend giving you the ‘you-are-trying-to-poison-me’ when you try to give them any form of medication – which of course, can actually be at any age and stage of life.
Whilst some doggy medication and supplements have been cleverly manufactured to taste of ‘treats’, Pardale V still has that awful chalky ‘Paracetamol/aspriny’ taste. Yogi used to take it if heavily bribed with cheese or chicken but for the last 6 months it has become quite a battle of wills. A battle in which I often feel unnervingly unarmed.
Despite trying to heavily-disguise it, she would rumble me, lick off the tasty overcoat of chicken, tuna, cheese, sausage and even steak and then spit every small piece of Pardale V on the floor and look at me with ever-increasing distain and disappointment. Despite devouring the most disgusting and decaying things with relish during her 17 years, now she can, and will, detect and reject the minutest sliver of beneficial medication.
Anyway, victory is mine as I have discovered Greenies Pill Pockets, which are so malleable that you can mould them around any pill and hand them to your dog with confidence. Available in several different flavours, and also for for cats, they have proved highly successful for almost a month now. I’ll just have to make sure that Yogi doesn’t read this.
Thanks for the mention. Great article again.