Front garden in autumn - NOT amateur radio

It seems the long summer days and warmth are over as we move into autumn. In the front garden, one of our rowan trees has lost lots of leaves and in the back garden the trees will soon be bare again.

Things seem to have suddenly changed.

Rear garden in August - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows our rear garden in August.

We get most colour in Spring and about now. Our grass is suffering in the heat. They used to say, "don't water the grass as it will recover".

Until recently, I followed this advice. Then in 2018 a third of my front lawn just died and never recovered. Since then, I have watering particularly dry patches for almost an hour most dry nights. Hopefully my lawns will recover in the autumn when the dew returns.

Cottage garden - NOT amateur radio

This cottage garden was seen on a recent walk. Although largely untended, it is filled with "cottage" plants and looks a picture.

Expensive garden furniture - NOT amateur radio

This was on sale in Cambridge earlier. At not much less than £10k I don't think I shall be rushing out! It is a garden pod complete with padded seats.

Our garden - NOT amateur radio

As the sun was shining, we did some work in the garden yesterday. In a month or so the leaves will fall and the garden will "sleep" over the winter. At the moment it looks tired and "late summer".

We'll blink and it will be spring.

Coffee in the garden - NOT amateur radio

As it was warm and sunny this morning we had coffee in the garden for the first time this year. My wife also hung out some washing for the first time this year.

Spring garden - NOT amateur radio

Our back garden is probably at its best in spring with blossom and fresh green leaves as the picture shows. Blossom is ephemeral: it lasts a few weeks and then is gone.

Lopped trees - NOT amateur radio

A very similar picture was posted here yesterday. This is another view of the back garden showing the two trees that were lopped last month. In a few months they should be in leaf.

Gardening - NOT amateur radio

As the weather was sunny and mild, we decided to do some gardening.

I trimmed back some choisya, which smells like lemon. After about 20 minutes I was totally exhausted and had to stop. When on my feet I am giddy all of the time, but stretching as well just did it for me. I am pretty sure this is my 2013 stroke after-effects and not just me getting older.

It was nice to be in the garden, but I have to learn to pace myself.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/stroke

Garden - NOT amateur radio

Autumn is here and we are getting the garden ready for the quiet winter months. Leaves are falling and soon there will be frosts. It was quite warm today, but these days will soon be gone. Next weekend the clocks go back and it is soon dark early. Every season has something good about it.

Brother's garden - NOT amateur radio

A view of part of my brother's garden.

Few have a golf course in their garden! In all he has about 5 acres.

Begonias - NOT amateur radio

In the warm May sunshine, we planted begonias this afternoon. These last all summer and need very little attention. They give lots of colour.

There are a few more to do tomorrow.

Last year my wife bought busy lizzies by mistake. They also looked good.

Yesterday - NOT amateur radio

This is a collage of yesterday. We had something quite rare - sunshine!

Help with nests - NOT amateur radio

One of the joys of an English spring is seeing the world "come alive" again with fresh green leaves, blossom and birds singing. We can help birds by making sure they have a variety of things for nest building in our gardens. OK, it is only February, but the signs are there.

See https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/community/wildlife/homesforwildlife/b/gardeningforwildlife/archive/2018/01/26/helping-birds-build-a-happy-home.aspx#utm_source=notesonnature&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=feb18

Shield bug - NOT amateur radio

When the frosts and winds come we'll soon forget that it is mid-October and it was so warm that we had a cup of tea in the garden in our shirt sleeves.

This weekend some places in the UK could reach 24 deg C, which is very high for mid-October. Strangely, many trees are losing their leaves, which is early.

Whilst cutting the grass I came across this beetle. I think it is a shield bug. It was about 1cm long and mainly green. It flew off shortly after this photo.

See https://www.britishbugs.org.uk/gallery/heteroptera/Pentatomoidea/pentatomoidea.html

Garden in late September - NOT amateur radio

Our garden is looking more like autumn every day.  All the trees still have leaves, but they are starting to look tired.

Sometime in the next few months we'll get some strong winds and the leaves will be gone until the spring. Our impatients (busy lizzies) are past their best now. Every season has its good points.

Another hot day ahead - NOT amateur radio

This is a surprise! For a second day in a row, we had breakfast in the garden. It is already hot. For us in the UK this is exceptional. Even in the shade it was warm even at 8.30am. My wife as just been for a walk and says it is very hot.

Back Garden - NOT amateur radio

This afternoon, we planted a few more bedding plants, cut the grass and enjoyed a cup of tea in the garden in the warm sunshine. At this time of the year, lots of birds are singing and, it seems, everything in the garden is coming out and looks fresh.

Garden Colour - NOT amateur radio

This garden in our village is always filled with colour in spring and summer. The couple who live in this cottage work hard on it. Sadly, they are getting older, so I am not sure how much longer they can maintain it. At the moment it is a sea of colour.

Gardening - NOT amateur radio

The weather these last few days has been glorious, so it has been a chance to do some gardening. My brother John has been up for a few days and busy doing "odd jobs" which I used to be able to do, but struggle with these days. Here he is putting some new top soil in the garden.