Autumn spiders!

I can definitely tell that autumn is here, the spiders are weaving webs all over the garden! Not that I have anything against them personally, but I HATE walking into a spider's web, and always worry about where the owner has ended up! There are so many, and they aren't small either.

Picking the runner beans is a fraught business, have I missed a web, and the spider has got onto me, or even worse, into my hair? The beans are coming to an end now, there are a few flowers still, but not many. What beans are still developing are really good, longer than most I picked in the summer. I think it is the amount of rain we've had recently.

However the sun did shine on the bride, my brother's wedding was well timed between showers last week, and everything went off really well. I'll post some pics once I've got them off the camera.

I was watching a programme which showed a local vineyard where most of the grapes had rotted on the vines because of the weather. Mine are looking lovely at the moment, although a few have split, probably due to the weather. They are eatable, but still a little sour. I'm hoping they will sweeten a bit more, but some sun would help. I've picked most of the blackberries, they have been very large, juicy and sweet. Next year, with two canes, I should hopefully have twice as many.

I have been cutting the leaves back on the tomatoes to help the air to circulate. The vines are stubbornly trying to produce more shoots and flowers, but it is too late for any new tomatoes to grow and ripen now. The cucumbers have finished, and I removed the old plants from the greenhouse today, bringing in the chillies from around the garden. I appear to have 3 types, the numex twilight that I grew, a long thin one that ripens red, and another long one ripening yellow. This makes sense, as I had plants from Nicola of the gardening club, and Noel from school, but I don't know who gave me what. As Daniel has now found a place to live at uni I need to get the chilli jam made so he can take some with him when he goes in 2 weeks time!

I planted up some prepared hyacinths today, they should flower by Christmas, but I need somewhere cool and dark to put the pot. I'm not sure where that will be so far. I have also got some tulips to plant, Queen of the Night and some white ones. I intend to mix the two in pots for the patio. I've got some tete a tete to plant as well, but didn't feel too good today, so they are still in their packets.

The weeds seem to have taken the opportunity to germinate so the garden could do with a good tidy so they don't over winter. I've also noticed a number of slug eggs around which I've tried to gather up and dispose of, besides applying more nematodes to slow the population explosion. Fortunately the snails haven't moved in yet! In the greenhouse I found some caterpillars on the tomatoes. I don't know the variety, but I disposed of them anyway as they were managing to eat into the ripe fruit.

The cobnuts have lost most of their leaves now, the nuts were ripe a week or so ago. We only had 5, but the bushes are showing a good number of catkins for spring, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for next year. It also looks as if the parsnips have done well, but I won't know if they are OK until I pull some. The celariac is still small, but I have taken off the outer leaves, as they had at Wisley. Hopefully they still have some growing time left. Finally the yacon seems to be growing too, but again, it seems a bit late, and I won't know if I have anything to harvest until I lift after the first frosts cut down the stems. I do know the beetroot have done well though, those can been seen easily as they grow proud of the soil.

I had some plants come from T&M finally, auriculas, which were ordered way back, but their stock failed. I need to get them planted up tomorrow, as I'm finding I'm very tired once we get back from school in the evenings. They look very healthy, so I'm hoping I have a good show of colour next year. The carnations should flower next year too. I have had very few flowers in the back garden, and none on the ones I planted in the garage garden. If it isn't raining tomorrow I intend to plant the rest of the lavender hedge, and consider where to plant replacement sage and rosemary bushes, as the orginals have got rather overgrown.