Hello there. It’s been a very varied weather picture here in central Scotland this October. It was mild and kind at the beginning of the month, which presented perfect conditions for bringing in this year’s harvest of apples and pears. Compared to last year, the yield from the old apple tree and 2 small pear trees was small, but there was still enough to enjoy, and now the trees are having a well earned rest.

The morning following the fruit picking, the first frost of the season fell, and a few days later, there was another one. A subtle reminder that winter is not too far away.

Having had a late spell of very warm weather last month, the trees held on to their leaves longer than usual. The Autumn colours have been really showing in all their glory since the middle of the month. The Japanese maple in the back garden looks as spectacular as ever this year.

The second half of the month has seen strong winds, a named storm (Babet) and heavy rain hitting this part of the country. Little damage here thank goodness, but lots of flooding around the area. The rain has washed plenty of leaves to the ground, and there are piles to be swept up all over the garden.

There aren’t so many flowers in the garden at the moment. But these Bidens, usually a summer annual here in Scotland, seeded themselves and only started flowering last month. The Autumn crocus suffered in the frost and then the heavy rain, and the poor pink rhododendron is very confused by the weather. It produced a solitary flower last week which sadly didn’t last more than a couple of days.

I put the greenhouse to bed this weekend. The tomato plants had just about finished and the last of the aubergines (egg plant) were ready for picking. All that remains are some late season potatoes. I’m not sure how well they are doing but I guess that I will find out in another month or so when I dig them up.

There was a new visitor in the garden this week. A little hedgehog made its way to the apple tree. I think he/she was in search of dropped bird seed from the feeder above. The prickly visitor rolled into a ball as soon as it heard us approaching. There are plenty of leaves around in the garden so hopefully this little fellow will make a comfy bed in one of the hedges for the coming winter.

That’s all for this week. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy the changing season. Until my next post, take care and my best wishes to you 🙂