Spring and summer were late arriving in Grey Britain this year, the growing season in the garden estimated to be about 3 weeks behind the usual annual pattern.  Similarly Autumn has been late to arrive with trees holding their end-of-summer tired green colour until only recently.  In normal years by now trees would be bare, the ground carpeted in leaves.  A bonus has been that in the Blue House tomatoes which grew to 12 feet high despite total neglect while I was In Greece, entwined in agaves and a palm tree, have continued to ripen fruit into November.

Tomatoes ripening into November

Because I’m at home for a relatively short time before heading off to the Canadian Rockies I’ve been concentrating on getting the garden sorted out and the late arrival of frosts has helped enormously.  But it has meant that I have done little walking other than to the shops and the occasional foray up the mountain.

Not that I have been deprived of Autumn colour.  What I pretentiously call the ‘Acer Glade’ in the garden, the bottom quarter next to the canal which I have been planting up to reduce the maintenance required when I’m old and feeble, is starting to look good with a multicoloured canopy over most of it as trees grow into each other.  Even on grey days the colours are striking, when it’s sunny they are luminous.

Green until a few days before, now gold and mottled

A deep purple variety of Japanese maple turns bright red even on a grey day

Golden throughout the summer, turning more vivid in autumn

Lime Green palmatum dissectum variety turns yellow and gold

At the front of the house a mountain ash is deep red under black cloud

………. bright gold under blue sky

A newly laid carpet in the Acer Glade

Silver birch turns yellow but golden brown in the setting sun

Surrealistic golden glow at the bottom of the garden as the sun rises

Carrying a camera all the time when I’m out and about has also paid dividends, particularly walking to the shops through the local park and walking ‘green corridors’ in the densely built up areas of Greater Manchester where my daughter lives.

The bandstand and avenue of ornamental cheery trees in the local park

Bright yellow despite grey skies

Evening sun on the Trans Pennine Trail

Leaden sky towards the very end of the afternoon bleaches but cannot hide the colour

Heaton Mersey Pond in the evening gloom

Leaves shed on the pond as well as the path

Setting sun gives a golden glow to everything as it sinks lower on the Trans Pennine Trail

x.