End of October 2

Just some photos of pretty leaves.

End of October

As the weather gently changes through October I feel I should think about the successes of the garden, and the things that did not go so well.

Without a mole along the wall the runner beans, sunflowers tomatoes and ornamental gourds would have had a better start and maybe would have been more successful, however, the runner beans were great later than everyone else's and there were plenty of tomatoes, although I ended up picking the last ones green to ripen later. 

Need more veg plots, as the strawberries seem to be taking over the root plot, still have potatoes in the ground so that plot is not dug, roots still in so that is not dug and the brassicas are all going well so that is not dug. Need to get digging on the beans plot and feel I have done something!

I am still enamoured with the colours of the leaves on the trees.

Someone said that one night in November there will be a wind and the leaves will loose almost all their leaves, no doubt it is tru, but for not how lovely it this?

Candy Corn

Trying to track down Candy Corn over here, have not found any yet.

However, while searching I did come across these on a shelf!

They do look very enticing. 


Early this evening a neighbour brought down his son to ask where the pumpkins decorating around the front door came from, the poor lad did not believe that they could be grown here. 
Worse yet, he has never had pumpkin pie!
Guess there will be some baking going on here this weekend and we can change that for him.

Hope to get a picture of the front door pumpkins and decoration and post that tomorrow.

October Flowers and Vegetables

The weather has been cooling and I wonder how much more I can pick from the garden.
Most other people have pulled up their runner beans, but, as mine still have a few flowers and beans growing it seems a shame to put them on the compost just yet.
There are still sunflowers and sweet peas, and for reasons I have no idea about the lavender is also producing flowers, I do not know if cutting it back at this point will hurt the plant.

Picked lots of tomatoes for tomato soup, it was delicious and there is some in the freezer for a winters day.

These are a few little sunflowers that will not be left to make seed heads for the birds, however, I love them and think that I should enjoy them inside.




This is pretty much the total of what I picked the other morning. Runner beans, courgette and lots of tomatoes along with the sunflowers and sweet peas.
Pretty coulourful and most were very tasty. 

This Makes You Think of Misty Autumn Mornings

A small thing, but, so evocative of misty English autumn mornings.

Produce

Some one was very lucky and was given a box of fresh garden produce all organically grown here.
There were more potatoes and there was kale too, but I didn't get them in the photo.

The man on the gardening program was pulling up his runner beans as they were pretty much past it, ours still have flowers on.

A selection of berries from the edge of the field, picked this afternoon.

Blackberries, either for blackberry and apple pie or blackberry jelly, which would you like?

Elderberries with the leaves. 

The round berries with the distinctly blue tinge are sloes, I am going to make sloe gin with them, it should be ready for Christmas, remind me to offer you some.

Autumn Colour

Harvest Festival

The church has a Harvest Festival on Sunday. 

The church needs to be decorated and I was asked to decorate a window! 
(so no doubt with my floral skills this will also be the last time I get asked).

I decided to try and ignore the flower theme and go for the 'produce' rather than flowers. 
So here come the pumpkins......
and hops .......
and some apples and ornamental gourds.



Here are two photos of the window sill.