THE WEATHER -

A typical mixed bag of weather for October! Some beautifully clear days with wall-to-wall sunshine have been interspersed with dull, rainy days, sometimes with the rain setting in for the entire day. However, the weather has been incredibly mild for October, (although nights have been getting cold now), with days when it has been too warm for a coat, or even a jumper! Wonderful! However, the 31st gave a taste of things to come, when the wind changed direction and blew from the north, bringing a very cold breeze in spite of the sunshine. Maximum temperature 18°C (68°F). Minimum temperature 4°C (40°F).

It's not unusual to find the odd flower on a Clematis in October, but what a surprise it was when I spotted this one, called Rouge Cardinal, at the bottom of the garden by the lower gazebo! The reason is that I haven't seen a sign of it for about two years. I planted it when the lower gazebo was built in early 2004, and after a few months, it promptly died of Clematis wilt. It struggled back again, a shadow of its former self, later that year, but died again and hasn't been seen since - until now! I didn't even notice the poor thing until I spotted a flash of colour low down that I hadn't noticed before, and it turned out to be a flower! Well, it just goes to show that you should never give up on a plant! It's lovely to see it again, and I hope it will survive now and come back again with renewed vigour next year.

The autumn crocus, Colchicum autumnale, is in full flower now, making a welcome splash of colour at the front of the border. The flowers appear from the bare earth, and last a week or so, then die down again to nothing. Later on, strap-like fleshy green leaves appear, which can be very untidy, so I grow the plant behind a metal support which helps to keep the leaves from flopping over the lawn and killing the grass!

Here's an unusual plant for the front of the autumn border. It's called Senecio pulcher, and is an evergreen perennial. It forms a low-growing clump of green leaves with slightly wavy edges, and at this time of the year produces tall stems topped with two or three bright cerise daisy-like flowers with bright yellow centres. Quite an unusual colour for a Senecio, whose flowers are often yellow. It's not particularly hardy though, so I have it in a sheltered spot on the warm south-facing patio.

The lovely Verbena bonariensis is still going strong, its tall slender stems producing a cluster of pale lavender-pink flowers on top. This plant is very attractive to butterflies, and here's a late Comma butterfly enjoying a feast of nectar on a lovely sunny autumn day - heavenly!

That's all for this month...... Happy Gardening!!

Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Crow, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Robin, Rook, Seagull, Starling, Thrush, Wood Pigeon, Wren.

OCTOBER'S PARTY
George Cooper

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came -
The Chestnuts, Oaks and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.

The Chestnuts came in yellow,
The Oaks in crimson dressed;
The lovely Misses Maple
In scarlet looked their best;
All balanced to their partners,
And gaily fluttered by;
The sight was like a rainbow
New fallen from the sky.

Then, in the rustic hollow,
At hide-and-seek they played,
The party closed at sundown,
And everybody stayed.
Professor Wind played louder;
They flew along the ground;
And then the party ended
In jolly "hands around."