Last Warm Rays of the Sun

After a week of wet weather, it was really lovely to get out into the fresh air and enjoy last warm rays of sun today.

I trimmed back the flowers from the lavender but didn't go into the foliage; I thought I would save that job until the Spring.
I had planted some seeds early in the summer in a small patch of spare earth but the climbing beans took too much of the light and the plants didn't take off. After the beans had finished the seedlings soaked up the new light and are now flowering. It's a bit of a dogs dinner as I couldn't reach the seedlings to thin them out but now at the end of the summer, the flowers are looking quite fresh whilst everything else is fading.

Corncockle

Cosmos

Behind the Cosmos

Cosmos bud

With the light so much softer now, it's an ideal time to photograph outside and I couldn't resist tiptoeing through the purple sprouting broccoli to get to the back of the cosmos to capture it.

The raspberries have been absolutely fantastic this year. I have made two batches of jam plus I have some in the freezer to make another lot, when our new kitchen has been installed. They have been fruiting since July and if the frosts keep away I still have more to pick.

Honeysuckle

Dahlia loved by the earwigs

The dahlias and the honeysuckle are still flowering. Looking rather tatty but with all those months ahead of us with very little in the way of flowers to cheer us up, I am enjoying this moment for all its worth.

End of the season

My project for the NGS is all done and dusted. All CD's have been posted off and I feel very happy with the results. I have had a summer jam packed with photography and although I haven't devoted enough time to growing, I look back on the summer as being very productive.

As the flower garden is enjoying its grand finale with the Dahlias taking centre stage, the Purple Sprouting Broccoli in the vegetable garden is just starting its second act. It survived the attach of the Cabbage White, albeit looking like a doily and is bulking up nicely.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Pennisetum

White Hydrangea

Anne Folkard Geranium

I need to cut back the lavender but the last remaining bees are still drinking the nectar, so I haven't the heart. I am worried that I might have left it too late before the frosts so I will do it this weekend and have the fleece at the ready, just in case of frost.
With one more episode of Gardeners' World before the end of the series, the gardening season is nearly over. The light has changed and is softly diffused, perfect for photography.
A couple of weeks ago we headed off down the coast to Portland in Dorset. The light was very bright but I wanted to see how the lighthouse photographed, with a view to going back in the Winter, when the light was subdued and desaturated.

Portland Bill

As the opportunities to photograph the garden diminish over the coming months, my blog will feature more of my photography out of the garden than in the garden but until then I will put my garden to bed for the Winter and capture the smokey hues of the autumnal garden.