A Collage of October Garden Colour

This week we have had to say goodbye to the wall to wall sunshine we saw in September and hello to wind and rain.  It is, however, still very mild and the forecast does not mention rain for the next few days.  I have actually been waiting for some rain as I need to plant daffodil bulbs and this is much easier to do in damp soil.  October is the best month to plant many spring flower bulbs so if you have that on your to do list then you need to get digging!.

So what else is there to see in our Normandy garden?  On a grand scale things are definitely looking somewhat sad.  Summer vegetables are all but over and winter ones (leeks, cabbages etc) are being gently showered with falling leaves.  But step a little closer and there are still plenty of flowers to be seen and harvests to be had.  Perhaps not the manic basket loads of produce from a month or so ago but plenty to put food on the table.  I have been bottling pears, roasting the last of the red tomatoes, drying beans, collecting a few hazelnuts and the autumn raspberries are the best I have had in years so I am having them for breakfast most days. 

A lone gladiolus is in glorious purple flower but at a rather jaunty angle thanks to the wind and the sunflowers have taken advantage of the late September sun to keep flowering on small side shoots.  The cyclamen give us autumn cheer in the front garden and the blueberry bush certainly looks like it is on fire.

Oh and on a slight aside may I say SUNSETS.  They have been absolutely fabulous this week and I wrote this short poem in honour of the way they echo summer's heat as gradually we head towards winter.

And pumpkins.  What is autumn without pumpkins?  I shall be harvesting these over the coming days and will report back with the results next week!

 
How is your garden looking?  Are there snippets of summer still to be seen and harvests yet to have?  Please do let me know.  For more gardening gorgeousness head on over to Mammasaurus (@FableandFolk on Twitter) and see what is happening in other gardens this week.