mid-month photo and October in the garden...

If you visit here regularly you'll know I've been taking a photo of my garden on 15th of each month to try to get a feel for the changes that happen through the year. I've tried to take it from almost the same place but have to admit that has probably drifted a bit because in January I hadn't anticipated the amount the trees would grow over the year! I am not feeling very inspired by this little project as, to be honest, I realise now that, at least from a distance, my garden looks pretty samey much of the time! So I've tried each month to add some snippets of colour or interest from around the garden and, because I'm not very good at letting things go part way through, I will persevere until the end of the year!

October 15th was bright and crisp and surprisingly difficult to photograph! The sun was very low in the sky and from the house, casting long shadows down the garden which made the light have strong contrasts.

The leaves have gone from several of the trees already and much of the borders are looking a bit tired and tatty. I am working with the theory that its much better for the insects to have somewhere to hide out in the cold weather so am not going to go out and tidy until the spring! I get much more pleasure out of the wildlife than pulling up weeds so it can just stay as it is!

There is a bit of colour out there still...

The late September burst of heat has meant that almost all the tomatoes have ripened this year. Given the huge glut of plum chutney from earlier in the year, probably good we don't have a glut of green tomatoes too!

The sedums are always good value...

and the creeper and the holly berries add a splash of red to brighten things up...

From the bottom of the garden the sun was just beginning to appear over the top of the roof and the sun was streaming down...

I'm not good with this time of year. I hate the approach of winter with its dark mornings and evenings and am permanently cold. It makes me feel as though I'm meant to go into some dormant state somewhere until the sun comes out again (this could be 6 months in the UK!). But when I look at these pictures I realise that even on the cold days there is sunshine and colour and that lifts my spirits. This year I am going to try very hard to look for the lovely bits to keep me going - there are things I love, candlelit evenings, crisp winter walks, snuggly blankets, warming winter soups, family time... I just need to keep reminding myself its not all grey and cold!

Sx