Autumn in the garden

Eugène Samuel Grasset "La Belle Jardinière Octobre" 1896

Can I just mention again, how much I love this time of year? The family and I have been clearing the lower part of the garden to make room for a new greenhouse - hard work, but I know it'll look fantastic by November. It's amazing how plants adapt to whatever strange environment they find themselves in, I have learnt how to identify weeds, they're the ones that hang on for dear life when you try to pull them up! The food harvest has slowed down now, I managed to get one pear off the tree (no luck with apples this year) and the blackberries keep coming, but the real winners are the green beans - we'll be eating them until Christmas!

Otherwise I've been working on some autumnal features, such as using the old water pump (above) and of course, the pumpkin took pride of place within the beautiful Virginia Creeper which has gone wild this year, but I can't bear to cut it back yet even though the leaves have nearly all dropped now.

I hope you have spent your week with mugs of steaming tea, clicking the thermostat up in the evenings, and being on the edge of your seat for The Great British Bake Off! I know I have! Here are the two garden-related books i'l be settling down with over the next week! In my opinion, you can NEVER go wrong with Monty Don, I'm sure you agree!

Thanks for reading! Keep cosy!

Katie