English Country View in Summer

As Autumn takes hold and the evenings are drawing in I thought I'd celebrate our brief summer with this photo. It is a view over some of our glorious east Devon countryside snapped from Burrow Farm Gardens, Near Axminster.

Autumnal Chores

The days are definitely chilly and damp. The nights even more so - very autumnal. Today I pulled in the pots of pelargoniums (bedding geraniums) in readiness to remove them from their pots - dry them off and place in store in the garage over winter. It's not been a very good year for them - far too wet. But they are so beautiful. Such vivid colours. Such perfection when you look at each individual flower. I have one huge terracotta pot which is in a sheltered position near the house - all the pelargoniums in that may well continue to flower well into November. Unless we have a very severe winter I expect to cut them back hard in March, then start watering and feeding copiously in readiness for another fine show to start again in May next year.

Autumn Equinox

A lovely sunny late summer day. Today I took a short trip to Exmouth to walk along the Exe estuary. A fine late summer day and the crowds of visitors have left. The beaches once again free to be enjoyed by the residents. The best time of year. When you can go out for a walk and remind yourself why it is so lovely to live in East Devon. Tomorrow is the first day of autumn.