It appeared all of sudden and, just like that, it was gone again: summer has, it seems for the most part, been usurped by autumn, and happily for me, we find ourselves embracing the most beautiful season of them all (albeit with pockets of gathering sunshine to sustain us). The outgoing summer’s legacy of fresh greens has faded fast, the rate of growth has begun to slow and the foliage is taking on a distinctly and gloriously golden tinge. Autumn really is in the air.One happy effect of the foliage ebbing away is that the remaining blooms seem all the more vibrant as their more riotous bedfellows quieten down. The dahlias, sunflowers, echinacea, verbena and asters are all scattering the most wonderful pops of pink, orange and purple and cheering me up every time I glimpse them.An extra perk of the late summer/ early autumn garden is the abundance of apples that are ripe for the picking. This has been our best year yet for two of the fruit trees nestled in the wild meadow bank at the back of the garden. It has, though, been a tale of two halves when it comes to fruit harvesting: the plums trees haven't been nearly so abundant as in previous years as they were raided early in the season by two hefty – and now very well-fed – pigeons.The first couple of weeks of September were particularly wet ones and, as much as I adore autumn, I was hugely cheered to see the sun return mid-month for one last hurrah. I'm not sure that I'm quite ready for the end of the growing season just yet.
