This week has brought a noticeable drop in temperature and the arrival of the first frost. The distinct chill in the air is a clear indication that autumn is here. And I, for one, couldn’t be happier. It’s my favourite time of the year.
In neighbourhood gardens, the late summer flowers of rudbeckia, asters and dahlias add a warm autumnal glow to proceedings. The falling of leaves is gathering pace while roses and hydrangeas are fading into their autumn hues. Pumpkins have arrived on supermarket shelves (hurrah!).
At home
Here at home I’ve been indulging in my favourite autumn rituals. Lighting scented tea lights, seeking out the pile of hats, scarves and gloves from the back of the wardrobe and stocking up on my reading pile are things I do habitually every autumn.
Next on my reading list is The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl, described as a ‘howling love letter to the world’ by Ann Patchett (one of my favourite authors). The book has 52 beautifully illustrated chapters which follow the creatures and plants she finds in her backyard over the course of a year. I’m very much looking forward to reading this over the next few weeks.
Coincidentally, in our own garden, we’ve had some recent visits from a fox. A first for us, the fox was picked by the front door camera, wandering along our driveway, its distinctive bushy tail making us realise it was not one of the many neighbourhood cats.
The scented tealights are from The Future Kept
A book for autumn reading – The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl.
Autumn in the garden
Meanwhile, in the garden, I’ve been tidying up and harvesting hydrangea flowers for use in pumpkins and wreaths. Hydrangeas are one of my favourite flowers and they’ve done very well this year with all the rain.
Hydrangeas picked from the garden
I’ve also been getting one of the raised beds ready to plant with tulips. Normally I have my tulips in terracotta pots but this year I’ve decided to dedicate a whole raised bed to them. I’ve only about a hundred or so to plant !
I opted this time for jewel coloured tulips rather than pastel colours. Already, I am very much looking forward to seeing them flower next spring. If you are a tulip lover, the ones I bought are the Ginger Snap Tulip mix from Sarah Raven and if you hurry, you can get 20% off at the moment here.
Well, that’s a little round up of all things autumnal from round these parts. As I may have mentioned, I’m very happy that autumn is here and I do hope it stays a while. What about you? What do you like about autumn? Feel free to share your comments below.
Thanks for stopping by,
Paula
Useful Links
Other autumn related posts from Typewriter Girl to enjoy:-
It is such a wonderful time of year. A time to make plans for next year but also a time to reflect on what has passed. Have a glorious autumn. 🍂🙋♂️
Thank you so much Ashley. Hope you have a great autumn too.
The Comfort of Crows sounds intriguing. I love autumn too, there’s still so much going on in nature, some of my favourite flowers bloom in autumn and the trees are just glorious this year.
Yes, absolutely, there’s a lot to enjoy. The book is a Reese Wetherspoon recommendation so it should be good. The illustrations are beautiful
Still kind of jealous of those hydrangeas!! They are so gorgeous…maybe someday I will be able to grow them!
Thank you. They like a lot of rain and of course we get a lot of that !!
My favourite season, there’s so much to love about it!
Yes, absolutely Andrea. It really is the most wonderful time of the year 🙂
I like the sound of The Comfort of Crows.
Jealous of your fox 🦊 visitor. Haven’t seen one for over 20 years. X
Yes, we feel quite privileged having a fox visit. I’m a few chapters into the book and it’s a lovely read.