Despite it being the last days of October, it's still extremely mild. This has its up sides along with its down sides.
An up side is the warm damp soil is still very workable to get in shrubs and bulbs for next year. It is helping a fair few plants hold on to blooms that wee bit longer before the bite of the first frosts cut them down.
Above the rhododendron flower buds are building strength, while below acer leaves take on their rich colours of autumn.
The stag horn tree is on fire. Better captured with the evening sunlight, but today we're not so lucky.
Pretty much bereft of leaves now, Rosa Tall Story has one last attempt at clinging onto the summer.
Our neighbour has two beautiful acers that drape elegantly over our fence lending their autumnal exuberance to our own.
A down side however is the infestation of aphids feeding on the violas. They don't have enough predators this time of year, and without a cold snap to stop them in their tracks, it means my own fingers can become quite green as I rub them into oblivion - my apologies to the squeamish!
The alpine trough is soon going to need some form of protection. A piece of glass atop a couple of bricks should to the trick.
But for now their swansong continues.
The transplanted cyclamen have settled in and beginning to bloom.
As the fern fronds begin to crisp up.
The last clematis bloom on the arch joins the first bloom of....spring?
And finally the young birch tree sheds it's last remaining leaves. Autumn winds will soon lead to cold icy winter.
And then we'll start all over again.
