It's all change in the gardens again. I have, for the past three years been camping out in a field with my sheds and greenhouses whilst my old potting shed in the barn was turned into stables. Now I am having to move again to a new site adjacent to the area, which will eventually become my new walled garden. I have so much stuff to move that I am dreading the upheaval. I shall be stuck in the middle of a muddy building site with machines roaring by every few minutes, open to the winter gales and will be thoroughly cheesed off before long. I will look forward to watching my new buildings being built and my new glasshouses being erected, this will be some consolation. I should think I will be able to take possession of my new domain in March or April. It's going to be a long winter.

I have, at last, sent off my bulb order for this autumn. I had some difficulty deciding what to order, as I had to give some serious thought to the newly restored gardens, which should be completed in January. Do I dispense with spring bulbs this season or do I order and plant late or plant in pots and plant out when in growth. It seems sensible to wait a season, as there is no point in making a hash of it. I will do something round the water gardens this autumn and fill all the containers with bulbs in growth in late winter.

I seeded a new lawn around one of the newly restored cottages and then after it had germinated enjoyed my summer holiday by the seaside. I returned to find moles had made themselves very much at home, the damage was frightful. I called up the estate mole catcher who wasted no time in catching three. The damage though was awful and the grass needed its first cut.  It's had three now and I have re-seeded the ruined areas and look forward to some rain to finish the job. It just shows that single-handed gardeners should never be allowed to have holidays  (what on earth am I saying .....)

Despite the dry weather in August, the various borders round the estate have held up very well. Now some are gearing up for the autumn display, lots of reds and orange, dark foliage and michaelmas daisies and at a distance they are a credit to me. All the sweet peas were a disaster this year; I gave up last month and ignored them. I think they were crowded out in the mixed borders this season and so next year I will grow them exclusively in the new walled garden, where they belong. I will plant either perennial sweet peas or clematis or both up the steel wigwams, which were such a success last year.

The daughters of Daisy, my jack russell, went to their new homes when they were eight weeks old. I shed bitter tears when I handed them over in exchange for filthy money.  Two weeks later I was still in floods when I remembered their sad little faces as they were snatched away. I will never do it again. I became too fond of them and I know they liked me in return. They all went to excellent country homes and I hear glowing reports but I am scarred for life, I need counselling. Daisy was quite unconcerned and had a good celebration moult afterwards, all over my car seats and soft furnishings. Pay back time.