October beauty

There's still plenty to photograph in the garden in October - berries, late flowers and ripening fruit and veg - so I'm still out snapping when the sun shines - and it has shone recently even though the last couple of days have been dull and misty.

My lovely Clematis "Bill Mackenzie" has been absolutely covered in those pale yellow bells since early June. And you certainly get value for money with this plant as the seedheads are perfectly beautiful; in the beginning they look like a silky tassle and later turn into a feathery star.

My Mum hates the two huge Pampas Grass plants behind the house. I have to admit they are untidy and dangerous plants for most of the year - their leaves are like bread knives, making them very difficult to cut back. My Dad used to burn them when the leaves were turning brown but I'd be scared to try this as I'm sure I'd set the house on fire! But when they start to flower in September you can forgive them anything. I love those tall translucent plumes - especially when the sun is low and they light up like lanterns.

Another fascination for me is the crop of tiny toadstools in front grass platt at this time of year. Definitely homes for fairies!








In the veg patch I've a beautiful Globe Artichoke plant but I'm afraid I never eat them - there are only one or two Globes each year and I tend to leave them on the plant and use them as decorations for the house once they've dried out - they look really pretty at Christmas sprayed with gold. But there is still much to harvest - I can't keep up with the Runner Beans, especially as no one else in the family wants them and its down to my son and I to eat as many as we can while they are small and stringless. I've harvested the Potatoes, Carrots and Apples and put them away for the winter - I tried the short and round varieties of carrot this year and they've been more successful - but still some have been attacked by the dreaded carrot root fly - horrible thing! In the next few weeks I'll be hoping to enjoy my first Butternut Squashes too - something I've not tried growing before.

Well that's the garden diary up to date! I've had a hard time keeping up with my blogging friends this week as I've been so busy with a new job and an order for some crafty items, so I must apologise profusely for my lack of commenting - hopefully I'll get back into my blog hop routine next week.