For several days our mornings have been initiated by beautiful sunrises making early starts a joy. The low sun casts long shadows across the orchard and the local dog fox is often seen trotting along the top of the dry stone walls as he makes his way back to the warmth of his earth.
Leaves are still coming down smothering the lawn, so once again with rake in hand we scoop them into the barrow and decant them into the leaf bins. So beautiful are the conditions, and so mild the weather that we actually spent half an hour with the mower on the orchard lawn. This was a useful operation removing any remaining leaves and trimming the late growth.
On the Thursday we were joined by well known podcaster and gardener Mike Palmer who took over our instagram account for an hour and took a walk around the garden with our head gardener Joff Elphick. Of course, when two gardeners get together the talk never ends and continued well into lunch and the early afternoon.
As the air cooled and the sun disappeared behind the copse at the western end of the garden we snatched a quick half hour on the shrub border, clearing away leaves, cutting back the hellebore foliage, and tidying up the Primulas that were well past their best. We miss the sun's warmth but there’s no doubt this is a beautiful time of year to be out in the garden.