Colour, texture, pattern (in the garden)

The weather seems to have gone very autumnal this last week or so. Hubby and I are going on holiday at the end of the week; I presume the weather in Corfu will still be quite hot so it's going to be a bit of a shock - both getting used to the heat there, and then having to acclimatise to the chilly North East again when we get back home!

I did a bit of tidying up in the garden on Sunday. Most of the bedding plants in baskets/containers were looking a bit sorry for themselves so they're now on the compost heap! I'm going to try and overwinter plants like the fuchsia, verbena, ivy leaf geranium and brachycome in my little plastic greenhouse; see if I can get some free plants for next year's baskets.

There are still lots of lovely colours and textures in the garden right now though...

Agapanthus africanus 'Blue Giant'

Schizostylis coccinea

Hardy fern

Rudbeckia hirta 'Irish Spring'

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Blaumeise'

Stipa arundinacea

Sedum herbstfreude 'Autumn Joy'

Crocosmia

Hebe 'Emerald Green'

Eucalyptus gunii

Malus 'Adirondack'

Liatris spicata

Hypericum

I love the changes in the garden at this time of year - leaves turning gorgeous shade of russet and gold; fat berries ripening; ruby red apples falling from next door's tree; feathery seed heads on grasses blowing in the wind; raindrops glistening and plants glowing in the low evening sun... I wonder what changes I'll see in the garden when we get back from our hols?