We have been having such great weather this September and October it feels more like late summer than autumn. However there are signs in my garden that autumn really has arrived. Everything is beginning to put itself to bed and there is a certain emptying going on. So I have resisted the temptation to post lots of photos of flowers that are still blooming, as blooming they certainly are. The cosmos and the verbena bonsariensis are all both still going strong. The roses have had a third flush and the asters have still to flower. So hopefully I will be posting about them in November.
The autumnal morning air is misty and damp. Even this photograph taken as late as 10 o’clock in the morning sets the scene for an autumn day.
The garden spiders are busy weaving and trapping as much foodstuff as possible, presumably before it disappears. The plants and the blades of grass have become the props for traps that insects must circumvent if they wish to stay alive. The plants are getting ready to survive the winter and so are most of the garden residents.
There are not too many berry bearing bushes in the garden. The main one is the pyracantha, which is still acquiring its winter red berries. If we have another frozen winter I know the blackbirds will strip the branches bare in a few days. If you look closely at the photograph you will see a tiny nest secreted in the top of the branches. It’s beautifully crafted. No longer occupied – another contribution to the feeling of emptiness of the garden. Hopefully there will be a new resident next year.
It has been a great year for fungi. It’s been popping up in places it’s never appeared before. I assume last year’s wet weather has assisted with this. I’m very proud of this clump on the stump of an old tree; fit to grace the floor of any ancient woodland.
The final emptying has been the digging over of the vegetable beds, completely vacant now, except for the Jerusalem artichokes, growing sky high, and the elephant garlic, newly planted this weekend.
The flower beds still have structure, which I hope will take us well into the winter. However here there is also an end of season feeling. The Allium heads which have looked wonderful all summer long can no longer support themselves and the willow dragonfly (a recent acquisition) is competing with them to see which can bend the furthest. Lying down, going side wards, being blown over, decaying and finally dying back are all processes well advanced in my garden this October. It’s an enchanting time of year.
I am linking up with How Does Your Garden Grow. Please pop along and take a look at some other fantastic gardens.
17 Responses to My Garden in October