Late veg box

                A final colourful harvest before the frosts arrive.

Nest lining

Globe artichoke flowers keep on giving long after the blooms have faded. Softer than a shaving brush, the bristles make good material for building nests.

Cage fighters

The late sown kale's coming on but needs protection from hungry pigeons. Some late spinach refuses to grow; it might be a summer variety that notices the dwindling daylight hours.

Colour bed

Some autumn colour in the flower bed; the antirrhinums (snapdragons) are random in height and colour, the cosmos is hanging on and the rudbeckia is uniformly marmalade. Un unhappy dahlia dislikes the heavy soil and would probably rather be in a pot.

Blooming late

The sweet peas are still producing flowers this late in the year (one plant's only just getting going) but the late ones will remain unpicked, hopefully to provide seed for next year.

Jam, the freezer

                        The autumn raspberries keep on coming.

And finally

The Jerusalem artichokes finally flower after reaching ten feet. Not as impressive as sunflowers, but similar and related (Helianthus) hence the name 'Jerusalem', which may be a mishearing of the Italian for sunflower, 'Girasole'. The edible tubers below ground taste nutty and give you wind; an autumnal ritual usual only observed once. If left unharvested they spread and can become invasive. Their value as a natural screen is somewhat diminished by their habit of growing too tall and requiring support and tying-up.

Nicotiana alata

Lime green flowers and a lovely smell in the evenings from this tobacco plant. The slightly bristly leaves repel any predators.

The present's orange

Nasturtiums, almost the identical shade of orange as the pumpkins.

Month of the pumpkin

Into October and the month of the pumpkin. Some of these have a bit of marrow about them. They're not huge either, so no good for lanterns, but smaller ones often taste better.