Bank holiday weekend

Say what you like about the banks, at least they give us an extra day off work. Is that right? I'm trying to practice acceptance and forgiveness so my critical faculties may be a bit below par. Whatever, still plenty to eat from the plot - beans, cabbages, carrots, courgettes, spuds, tomatoes and tons of fruit - blackberries, raspberries, apples, plums and grapes now too.

In the flower department the meadow mixes are going over a bit but the sweet peas are still flowering and the dahlias, evening primrose, carnations and verbena bonariensis are coming on strong.

Courgettes

The dry spell we had until recently means the courgettes are suffering with mildew but they're still cropping nicely:

Grapes

Late summer flowers

Dahlias and sweet peas:

Second pickings

It's always satisfying to get two crops of the same piece of ground. I sowed this row of late summer cabbages where I'd cropped the early peas.

Apples, rosehips and blackberries

Signs that autumn isn't far away.

Out in the country

I'm hardly a big fan of intensive arable farming but it at least it makes for some pretty pattens in the landscape at this time of year, especially under a blue sky and little fluffy clouds. The harvest is in and they're busy plowing and harrowing ready for sowing the next crop.

Harvest moon

Full moon tonight, the harvest moon. Plenty of harvesting going on here - and the only riot is one of colour and produce.

Peas and beans, spuds and carrots, greens, tomatoes and more fruit than you could shake a stick at. And this week the first of the carnations too.

Happy harvesting. Resistance is fertile.

First carnations

Peas and beans

More flower power

Buzzing

There seems to have been an explosion in the population of hoverflies this week, to add to the bees and butterflies: