October In The Garden - Harvesting the last of the summer crops

I've been in the garden this morning, just drinking in the warm wind and beautiful sunshine, it's been so uplifting to be outside. It's good to get out and be part of the natural world.

It's time, before the first frosts, for picking the last of the tomatoes from the green house and cutting my very meagre harvest of butternut squashes, which are sitting on the greenhouse bench for their skins to harden off, five in total which is very poor.

Whether it was the dry spring and wet summer which was to blame I am not entirely sure. The flowers set beautifully and then promptly dropped off. Undeterred I am going to grow then again next year but this time I am going to follow the advice given by Thompson & Morgan on how to hand pollinate, to see if this makes a difference.

My favourite stalwarts of the garden, the cheery geraniums are still flowering their little socks off, whilst all the other flowers are fading to a beautiful buff colour.

I love to see the hydrangea flowers go from a vibrant cerise to soft pink and then eventually fade so that they are paper thin and are just as beautiful as when they first came into bloom.

My thoughts, at this time of year usually turn to what crops to plant now for harvesting next year but we have decided to extend the vegetable bed which involves building a wall and all sorts of manly tasks which I am leaving my fiance to do. He has said that next year he is going to be more involved in growing vegetables which I am absolutely thrilled about. Actually he has said he is going to be better than me at growing them, so we'll see, he has thrown down the gardening gauntlet and I accept the challenge.

I am also going to extend my flower garden as well. We are getting married in 2013, which is a little time away but I want to grow as many of the flowers for table decorations as I can. I have picked spring to get married as I love the soft pinks and lilacs which are the colour of the flowers in bloom then, so peonies and lilacs are going to be filling my garden next year.

One more week until the clocks go back so enjoy the light in the early part of the evening before it goes and make the most of your garden before it goes to sleep for the winter.

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