TO AUTUMN

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

   Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun...

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees...

 

And still more, later flowers for the bees..."

Autumn seems to be upon us now, with leaves to rake and apples to pick, but there are still some pockets of colour to be seen in the Garden. The Jerusalem Artichokes have begun to produce their small, but vibrant yellow flowers.

Of course they aren't really Artichokes at all, nor do they come from Jerusalem. Their edible tubers do taste a lot like Artichokes though and when in flower they look a bit like Sunflowers. Their name is thought to have evolved from the Italian word for Sunflower; girasole as the flowers gyrate (gira) to face the sun (sole).

 Also in colourful bloom right now are the Amaranthus with their rich crimson heads.

We sometimes refer to them as the big finger plants.

A brand new shed has appeared in the Garden this week, 

 but it is far from just another ordinary shed,

 it is in fact our new Composting Toilet.

 This will be the new view from the Garden Gate, somewhere where we will get some of our best thinking done.

 All we need to do now is finish digging the trench and very deep pit for the soakaway, which is what will happen to all of the... well, you get the idea anyway.