End of the summer

Despite today being lovely, sunny and warm, it feels as though summer is truly over and we are preparing for the winter months. The greenhouse is now empty of all the summer veg. ...tomatoes, peppers and melons. Only the onions and shallots drying on the shelves remain. The shading on the outside has been cleaned off. I'm not sure it was ever really needed and everything has been cleaned and tidied. I may grow a few salad leaves in a couple of grow bags over winter.

The hedges have been cut, not the field hedges, we tend to do those during the Christmas break, but the garden hedges bordering the neighbours. It is always sad to see them cut as it leaves no fruit or berries for the birds. We do however leave the hedge along the hen run uncut, as this borders the field. So there are still plenty of rose hips, haws, elderberries and sloes, plus shelter for them there.

Tomorrow the herbs along the path will be trimmed back as they have now finished for the year. The wild cornflower mix has also finished flowering and has set seed so needs tidying up.
The grass in the hen run has been cut, possibly for the last time this year. Everything is winding down.

A true sign of winter arriving soon, however, is tomorrow the chimneys are going to be swept so we can start to light the wood burners on the chillier evenings.