WHITE IS RIGHT?

 For all the colours in the garden, and I include green, white is so important. And the biggest white we have are our Rambling Rector roses, one a mass by the old well and the other to the top of the old ash.

There are more whites - 

Deutzia,

Elder,

Daisy bush,

Philadelphus Belle Etoile,

White rosebay,

And the grey thornless hawthorn we saw first Holker Hall, Ox-eye daisies sown on the upper banking.

So having mentioned whites I suppose we should say a bit about light greys like the cardoon,

the chewed up mullein - taken a handful of moth caterpillars of the leaves, and one of my favourites the variegated horseradish.

Elsewhere we have three grey foliaged tree in the bottom garden - there weeping pear, the poplar and the eucalyptus. In fact despite being blown over in a storm the poplar is now tallest.

So after that what have we been up to? The newish bed with roses is a carpet of creeping buttercup and we have been filling wheelbarrows with it.

The lower banking has been strimmed and I have cut back the vegetation around the pond. Yesterday we had a visitor -

No wonder we have no frogs, toads and newts at the moment - or none I have seen. They might be hiding.

It is so good to have a little warmth and sunlight filtering through the trees.

So, having rabbited on about white and grey here is one of our glorious peonies.

HUNKERING DOWN

It is a dark and dreary night, something is nasty in the woodshed and SAD looms.

Ladybirds everywhere looking for somewhere to spend the winter - inside and out, on windows and curtains, landing in my hair. So they know something about the coming winter that I do not?

So, let me get rid of the autumn colours first -

There, now that is done, for now. The cherries in fact have only just got going. The best colours used to be the third week in October but now it is into November.

There are still some flowers in the garden, enough for a small vase at least.

The rooks in the trees are restless, not looking forward to the winter though there are a lot of berries this year for other birds. I have not seen any redwings nor fieldfares yet. The crows make a lot of noise at times especially if disturbed by something - this is unlikely to be me in cold damp weather.

So with the cherries turning there is still room for shape and colours in the small shrubs.

And the odd calendula blasts out its  colour.

SEPTEMBER SONG

 Not the old 78 of The Goons but here we are again at the back end of the year, nights drawing in and the odd bird beginning to sing post moult.

Where to start - some garden views - 

The white birches at the far end,

The clearing in the top corner,

The pond and shed.

The path to the veg beds and the far garden.

 In the darkness behind the top shed above the path to the pond I discovered a surprise - a big rabbit hole. So I stuffed it with old poles but they will have another way out or two I have not yet found.

C came and noted how many butterflies we have compared to his home in Oxford - another sad thought on the demise of the insect world. Our rampant buddleias do help.

Elsewhere there are warm colours in the garden, a sunflower, peculiarly dark nasturtium and bright dahlias.

There are gentler plants too - flowers on the hostas (and not too many holes in the leaves), the widespread seeded wild angelica and wild carrot in the lower garden. 

R brings the garden into the house and this brightens up a dull day with colour.

And there are birds but mainly pigeons - here one has flattened itself against the big living room window leaving the familiar white shadow (can a shadow be white?).

So I am plummed out and the damsons are arriving too. And we have still not used up last year's fruit from the freezer - the wildlife will have a feast.