Gardener's autumnal delights

After a fairly crafty past couple of weeks, I've neglected the garden somewhat. I managed to clean the pond of fallen leaves and clear away all the decaying hosta leaves on Sunday but the weeds are multiplying on the drive and patio, and there's all sorts of seedlings growing on the bark path (some which I'll rescue and pot on to make into nice big plants). Aside from the multitude of weeds though, there's still a lot of colour, texture and interest in the garden.

It was gorgeous and sunny on Sunday and I really enjoyed pottering in the garden for a couple of hours. I find the ever decreasing sunlight quite depressing at this time of year and I hate not being able to come home from work and just sit outside and enjoy the plants growing and the bees buzzing.

But I do still enjoy the pleasures that autumn has to offer. I love the ripe fruits and the wispy grasses, russet leaves and shiny conkers, crunching through fallen leaves and harvesting plump tomatoes and juicy onions from the garden. The colours are so much richer and the textures more apparent in the low autumn light. I really seem to appreciate the delights of autumn more than any other season; it's almost as if my senses need to take in every scrap of colour and texture and pattern because I know that it's not going to last, and the cold dark days of winter will soon be on their way (but then winter has it's own delights too!).

Pyracantha 'Teton'

Cotoneaster horizontalis

Aside from the juicy berries and rich autumn colours and textures, there are still a few bright blooms around, determined to survive for as long as they can. This is the gorgeous Rudbeckia 'Irish Spring' which I grew from seed in the spring. It's flowered non-stop from July so I'll definitely be growing it again next year.

After the weekend sunshine, today we've had a day of horrible drizzle. The plants do look really pretty though with droplets of water settled on their leaves, and I managed to capture a few photos tonight before it got dark.

Leucothoe axillaris 'Curly Red'

Plain old ivy

Spirea japonica

Stipa arundinacea

I hope you're still finding some pleasure in YOUR garden right now!

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?