We’ve had a wonderful mild autumn with lots of woodland walks and nature collections, picnics, comfort food, trick or treating and the start of school for the big small person (and unfortunately lots of boring evening working for me, but hopefully will have a doctorate by Christmas). And we’re halfway there with the bathroom refit. I’ve just been painting the bottom of a brand new claw foot bath with Rustoleum, which felt a bit wrong as it is so pristine and new and expensive. I had to go back to Pinterest for some visual reassurance before I made the first paint stroke!
Broomfields Farm is a local apple and pear grower with a farm shop, cafe and garden centre, fantastic at this time of year with the enormous apple boxes, forklifts, and pear orchard (complete with pickers’ ladders) next to the car park. A bag of 20 ‘too small’ but perfectly formed apples is £1 – much better than the funsize apples from halfway round the world in the supermarket, and I wish I was always organised enough to shop local.
Blanc y verde dahlia (in the raised bed) has really come into its own in October. Nice and compact with unusual lime and white blooms.
Me and the kids planted up these Aldi grape hyacinths a few weeks ago. I’ll bring them indoors when they start budding (I honestly have no idea when that will be!). And I’m loving my new watering can, which was £7.50 in Wilkos sale.
The view from the back of the garden – apple tree leaves turning, some sweet peas still holding on, purple pompom dahlias of unknown variety (i.e. not what it said on the packet) doing beautifully, and my (still empty) but beloved big pots in the background.
19th century modern squared 