My garden has been leading me astray this summer.  It started when the trees came down and suddenly all the raised beds had full sunlight.  We had kept them for years hoping that they would at least provide shelter from the frost.  It turns out, they make better firewood.

As daylight savings started, I let go of resolutions to get some more exercise.  Instead I stood with garden hose in hand, willing everything to just grow.

There were night raids for snails.  I didn't like the idea of the blitzem chemicals doing away with all my healthy garden worms.  The funny thing about articles on organic snail hunting is that they never tell you what to do with the snails once you catch them.  We learnt that the first 2 hours of dark on a damp night was the best time and that snails can escape from inside stacked ice-cream containers.  I also learnt that it is easier to work with the curious 5 year old face that pops up at the window during night time raids, than to tell her to go back to sleep.

After the snails were gone, the slugs turned up and so did the blitzem.

The tomatoes were wonderful, but albeit brief.  Many of them finished mid February, kneecapped by wilt.  I embraced the cherry tomato.  I staked out a teepee of them and even planted out more seedlings in December.  These ones are just coming on now, leaving me with handfuls of shining jewels.

The tiny front door flower patch is finally lifting its head after the summer heat.  There are self sewn hollyhocks and garage sale dahlias bursting into bloom.  They promised to be red and yellow.  I didn't realise this meant both at the same time.

The garden has been a nice diversion.  One I'm a little reluctant to let go of as winter looms closer.  Perhaps this year I will finally get winter crops of carrots and leeks and of course winter roses.