Sheffield Park in Late Autumn

My favourite time to visit Sheffield Park, in East Sussex, is at Rhododendron time. However, Autumn is a close second. The colours reflect beautifully in the lakes, giving you two trees for the price of one! I have heard that it has not been the best year for Autumn colour around these parts. That was certainly borne out by my visit yesterday, although it is the end of Autumn. Acers were standing knee deep in their own russet confetti, and the gentians must have been a picture a few weeks ago. Luckily it was a still day so the reflections in the lake were undisturbed, and I was able to take a few decent pictures:

Getting ready for a Winter sleep: Gunnera, or as my mother-in-law
calls them (accidentally) Gonhorrea!

My Garden in November

I love winter gardens, but a winter garden mine is not. But it's surprising how many flowers are still going strong, mainly thanks to a mild Autumn and a fair amount of rain.

Good old Crysanths never disappoint. Time to divide this one.

A Gaura coming into its own.

Sedum and Stipa tenuissima

My globe thistles are enjoying a second flowering

A lovely Cosmos grown from seed by my mum.

Lantana - always reminds me of Spain. Oh to feel the warmth of the Spanish sun...

This is my last sweet pea flower. They began flowering in June.

An Aeonium looks fondly down at an Iris.

Time to Tidy

Saturday afternoon was spent tidying up around the garden. Lavender was cut back, the greenhouse was cleared of weary tomato plants, then cleaned, and dahlias were deadheaded. I also planted a dozen foxgloves in a tricky area of dry shade - fingers crossed! Sunday was meant to be part two of the tidy up, but the weather was so lovely, and the sea, which I can see from my sofa here, was looking so beautiful that a walk seemed in order. Sitting on the beach with a flask of coffee on a Sunday morning with a warm October sun on your face - does life get better than this?