Six on Saturday: Seasonal Shift

October 31, 2026 by Cathy

I am joining the SoS crowd today, to share six things from my garden this Saturday.

This weekend I will be putting away hosepipes and watering cans as October comes to an end. We had a few more litres/mm* of rain in the week and the garden is looking both refreshed and tired, if that makes sense. We are still worried about our trees and the hedges though and can only hope we get plenty of rain (or snow) this winter. The greenhouse is almost empty of plants now as night-time temperatures have been around freezing all week, but it is still plenty warm enough for sitting in there for a cuppa early afternoon… the sun went below the treeline before 4pm yesterday though!

So here are my six for this week.

1. Frosty Geranium

We have had a couple of frosty mornings recently, so before breakfast yesterday I took a stroll around the garden to see how it was coping with the cold. These Geranium leaves caught my eye – their autumn colour combined with the frost AND morning sunshine is quite lovely!

2. Vegetable Beds with Calendula

The vegetable beds were also frozen… the winter salad and kale will be fine, but the Calendula? Well, they look untouched!

3. Wild Pear

In the photo of the kale above there is a wild pear tree behind it, almost completely bare of leaves and fruit. But another wild pear tree we have is still in full leaf and is bearing so much fruit… we are thinking of cutting the pears up to dry and eat as snacks or make tea with, as we have done in previous years. It’s a lot of work though as the pears are very hard and fibrous and difficult to cut – unpalatable when fresh but so aromatic and flavourful.

4. Autumn colour/Witch Hazel

Autumn colour is everywhere and within the past week my flowering cherry ‘Kojou no mae’ turned red and lost all its leaves – it happened too quickly! But the witch hazel, Hamamelis ‘Diane’, is changing colour nice and slowly and I am savouring it. I always forget how attractive it is at this time of year.

5. Last minute seed sowing

I have done most of my bulb planting for next spring, and have been taking in tender plants all week, so I am in a kind of ‘winding down’ mood. But then I suddenly remembered I still had some seeds to sow – Persicaria orientalis. Some went into the ground and some went into small pots which will be kept next to the house wall over winter as they like winter chill. I have failed with these before, so fingers crossed this time.

6. Front door pots

For several years now I have grown these pretty purple daisies in pots either side of my front door steps. Sold as summer annuals here they seem to withstand a lot of heat but also a bit of cold, so they are still going strong. The colour is very vivid in a semi-shady spot but they do well in full sun too. I call them Australian Daisies, but I believe the real name is Swan River Daisy (Brachyscome).

It looks like it will be grey and damp all day today – typical for here as we move into November. (November?! Where did the year go?!) So after rolling up the hosepipes I shall probably come indoors and tidy up/cut back the Pelargoniums I have brought in for the winter.. they are currently sulking as they don’t get as much light on a windowsill as they were used to outside or in the greenhouse. I know how they feel!

Are you noticing the shift too?

Many thanks to Jim at Garden Ruminations for hosting Six on Saturday!

* In Germany we measure rainfall in millimetres per square metre or litres per square metre, which comes out as the same: 1mm of rain equals 1 litre.

In a Vase on Monday: A Warm Glow

October 26, 2026 by Cathy

As I join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden with a Monday vase once more, my little arrangement reflects how the garden has looked over the past week – warm and golden with flames of red here and there.

The Spiraea japonica has again wowed me with its fabulous autumn colours, the sunny Chrysopsis keeps on flowering as if there is no tomorrow, a perennial sunflower ‘Sheila’s Sunshine’ decided to flower after all, and a small yellow Achillea has had a sudden flush of new flowers.

The red grass, Imperata cylindrica, does indeed look like flames, and a sooty black Echinacea seedhead adds to the bonfire effect.

However, it is anything but warm now and many of the golden leaves came down yesterday as a weather front came through… and we got rain! A whole 16mm!

I cut these flowers and foliage during a lull in the rain on Sunday, and had to resort to artificial light for my photos. And as we have now turned back the clocks it certainly does feel like we are heading into the darker months where materials from the garden will become more scarce. All the more reason for bringing things indoors to enjoy now. So why not join in and link to Cathy’s blog too!

Have a good week and Happy Gardening!

In a Vase on Monday: Carpe Diem!

October 19, 2026 by Cathy

Carpe diem – ‘seize the day’ – is something that has been going through my head for the last few weeks, as I have been making the most of the warm and sunny weather while it lasts. And when I saw a late and unexpected white Japanese Anemone in flower even more so. My flowers seem to have been on the same wavelength as me, and as several other bloggers in Europe have noticed, some plants are getting a second lease of life after being either frazzled or dormant all summer. Seizing the day!

I picked one of the anemones, for my vase yesterday, but sadly it had already wilted by this morning. The other materials will last longer: asters!

I picked some of the vivid pink ‘Alma Poetschke’ aster that has struggled this year, but has still managed to produce a few pretty stems.

The robust and lovely dark purple one has set seed in several places – ‘Barr’s Blue’. Another self seeder is the pale mauve one, name unknown or forgotten.

And there is a paler pink one somewhere at the back – ‘Pink Star’.

I also cut a few stems of Achilleas, which are making a comeback just like the anemones, and sending up late flowers.

And I am making the most of the Miscanthus ‘Red Chief’ for floral arrangements before the seedheads open completely and become messy indoors. I wasn’t sure it would flower at all, but cooler nights gave it a boost. (I think I heard it whisper Carpe diem!) Have you or your plants been seizing the day too? Or maybe the butterflies in your garden have?

Many thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for this lovely way to start the week.

Happy Gardening!

Five Favourites, October 2026

October 17, 2026 by Cathy

This will be the grand finale for my monthly look at what I love best from my garden. And what a finale my garden is offering! Despite having had almost no rain for months, the garden has revived, soaking up the morning dew, and is putting on what I think may be its best autumn show ever!

I have come full circle, having started this meme in October 2025. For fear of repeating myself I will let this rest and perhaps resume it some time in the future. I have looked back at my favourites in that first post, and I would choose them all over again! But I do have some variations this year, so here we go.

First of all some annuals that scatter their seed so they can return each year.

In the foreground here is Salvia viridis with a light frost on it.

For a bright splash of orange, Calendula and Californian poppies, also set seed and can withstand a light frost too.

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The Californian poppies have slowly been working their way across the Words & Herbs Bed over the past two years and I love the way they seem to blend in, despite their vivid colour.

Number Two: Peony foliage

Here in the Moon Bed two of the peonies, left and right of the Miscanthus, have left behind some gorgeous foliage.

And in the Words & Herbs Bed another two stand out.

Number Three: Miscanthus ‘Federwiesser’ and other grasses…

This is my favourite Miscanthus of all with its pale silver/gold flowers and strong upright growth. But I also love this Calamagrostis varia that droops slightly and sways so beautifully in a breeze.

Number Four: Asters

Last year I chose Aster pringlei ‘Pink Star’ as a favourite, and it is certainly still in my top three.

But this year I have also fallen in love with Aster dumosus Blauer Gletscher…

… and this purple one that set itself, possibly Barr’s Blue (but it is definitely not blue!)

The bees have been mad about it too…

My final one is something unexpected: the foliage of my Forsythia!

It is the orange ball of fire at the back of this photo, on the right- hand end of The ‘Edge.

I don’t recall it being so pretty in previous years. The summer sun and heat no doubt had some influence.

So thank you for following me through the year with my Five Favourites, and a special thanks to those that have joined in at various stages.

Happy autumn everyone!

A Treetop Walk in the Bavarian Forest

October 14, 2026 by Cathy

Last week the weather was so warm and sunny with perfect blue skies that we simply had to make the most of it and go out to see some autumn colour, even though we have mostly evergreens in our region. I chose the Treetop Walk (Waldwipfelweg) in the Bavarian Forest, a tourist magnet about an hour’s drive from us.

The path is an elevated wooden walkway supported by a few concrete pillars, with a large tower at the centre. It meanders through and above woodland on the side of a south-facing hill.

The views towards the Bavarian Forest…

… and the Alps were breathtaking. Just a little too hazy to see the mountains though.

I am not good with heights, but made it to the top of the tower. Here you can see one hand was on a railing at all times! 🤣

Looking down to where we had stood moments before made my legs go weak…

Within the walkway and tower there were various ropewalks – not for the fainthearted.

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And at the top of the tower you had the option to take the quick descent via a chute. We walked back down though!

The first and last section were nice, being right up close to the trees. And then the path continued beneath the platforms.

We avoided the ‘extras’ (film, café, and various quirky sights and activities)….

… and simply enjoyed the views. And the sunshine!

Hope you enjoyed seeing our fun afternoon out. This place will be worth a visit on a crisp winter’s day when the air is clear and the Alps stand out on the horizon….

I am linking in to Robin’s ‘Walktober‘, where we are invited to share a walk in the month of October.

In a Vase on Monday: The Birds

October 12, 2026 by Cathy

I am especially happy to be joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden today for her Monday meme, as I have a new vase!

This was my birthday gift from my Mum and Dad which I chose when visiting them in the UK in the summer. Eight little birds sit around the narrow neck of it.

This year I have taken much more notice of the birds in and around the garden, and as the garden beds fill out we have more and more nearer the house. The bird bath you saw last week is used regularly, along with another old plastic saucer in the yard where the sparrows, redstarts and wagtails queue up in the summer months. Yesterday I believe I saw a long-tailed tit, although my app could not recognize its lovely chirpy song. And most mornings – especially in winter – a buzzard rests on one of the perches we installed a few years ago and warms his back in the morning sun, stretching out his wings.

We had our first light frost last night, but luckily I don’t think it was enough to damage any flowers. The Thyme in the Herb Bed looked so pretty first thing with a crispy white coating of frost on it…

I am still glad I picked the Echinacea at the centre of my arrangement though. It was in a pot and took all year to flower, and I hope the other buds may survive the frost and also open soon.

Other flowers I used are the delicate pink aster ‘~~Anastasia~~‘ ‘Pink Star’, a Scabiosa ‘Pink Mist’ that has suddenly revived, some white ‘Double Dutch White’ cosmos, and some Miscanthus ‘Red Chief’.

The Miscanthus have flowered less or not at all and are much shorter than usual. The best of them all are the M. Federweißer in the Oval and Moon Beds, being only slightly stunted in growth due to the drought.

With another, heavier, frost forecast for tonight I shall be moving tender things to their winter quarters today and will ask my Man of Many Talents to install the gas heater in the greenhouse… it will be nice if I can keep my Pelargoniums out there for just a little bit longer. What will you be doing in your garden this week? Hope you get some nice sunny autumn gardening weather!