Wabi, Sabi and Bobby

Here's the Dowager Duchess of West Hampstead, in her autumnal domain. You can see that things are looking quite weedy and seedy out there. I trimmed back three more of the dahlias yesterday and put them to bed in the shed. Only one is still out -- the red one, which still has green leaves and doesn't quite seem dormant.

And although I'd pledged to spend yesterday reading, I wound up doing a bunch of other gardening, too. I took some toadflax out of another dahlia pot and even though it's basically a weed, I put it in its own pot. Now, when the dahlia goes in the shed all winter, the toadflax won't die. It might die from the shock of being repotted, but hey, I tried.

And I potted up the violas I found last week:

These are on the front porch, where the Gaillardia and Osteospermum used to be. I moved those two to the back patio. I also have a hanging basket of violas outside the back door.

It may be mid-November, but there's gardening to be done!

I also moved around some plants in the living room, in an effort to make space for the citrus tree, which will eventually need to come inside. It's not getting very cold yet -- only into the 40s F -- but I'm thinking ahead. I wiped down the grimy walls and floor around the plants by the back door...

...and revealed Wabi, Sabi and Bobby, who have been pretty much hidden by the jungle up to now. I haven't mentioned them since 2017 but they're still standing sentry, and Olga is still wary of them. Those big eyes freak her out. Bobby's pink ribbon, which was tired even when we first got him, has completely faded to a sad shade of gray. I've considered buying him a new one but I like his world-weary persona.

Oh, and Mr. Russia was pressure-washing their terrace AGAIN! Remember how he spent four hours on it just a few weeks ago? I actually got quite cranky with him, since last time I had to wash all the windows afterwards, but he said they'd found more problem spots. This time he only spent an hour and a half on it, and our windows are still more or less clean, thank goodness.

And yes, I did read about 100 pages of "Bleak House," despite having trouble concentrating over the hum of the pressure-washer. Progress!