It is the beginning of October in The Fortnight Garden but it is definitely a new season as well. Autumn has arrived and the garden is starting to slowly pack up for the year and retreat into itself for the long winter months. I find it quite sad.

1.The last few pears are holding on tight and still surprisingly green. They are also enormous – several weigh c.330g! I am sharing them with a neighbour who enjoys them while they are still quite hard, whereas I am baking them with brown sugar, eating them raw, and freezing after cooking in white wine with cardamoms, a la Ottolenghi.

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2.One of the joys of Autumn is the quince tree which looks really rather decorative with its yellow-green fruits. The fruits are still not ripe and sadly I see that many are splitting again. Anyway I can still bake them in the oven because I love cooked quince! I also intend to freeze them whole to enjoy over the winter, and I will probably make jelly – well, I can’t really miss a vintage!

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3.A small visitor, hiding in the Euphorbia.

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4.It has rained almost every day in the past week which is perhaps to be expected in the autumn, and so a lot of time was spent staring out of the window!

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5.&6.A little gallery of the colours lurking in the garden this autumn. Some of the Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ are still looking good, hiding in the shade under the Cornus, or under the Libertia; the sedums are brilliant; the Japanese Anemones soldier on; and the rose hips look good enough to eat.

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Well, it is definitely autumn at the start of October in The Fortnight Garden and before long I will need to do some tidying up. I am way behind The Propagator and don’t even have a bag of bulbs in the shed – ah well!