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30/10/2026

🧡🎃🧡🎃🧡

Five years ago, he was just 12 months old ❤️

Yesterday we headed to our favourite pumpkin farm, with my two grandsons for our annual pumpkin picking day.

What started, when Max was just a baby, has become a little family tradition, and now he’s six! How quickly those years pass.

We were so lucky with the weather, it was a beautiful morning. Blue skies, sunshine breaking through the clouds, and pumpkins as far as the eye could see.

We had a lovely morning together, a few pumpkins to bring home and more memories made. These are the little traditions I hope the boys will remember when they’re older. 🧡

I spent the afternoon pumpkin faffing … what do you think I made? 🤔

See tomorrow’s Halloween post! 🎃🧡😀

Do you have any autumn traditions you look forward to every year?

Happy Friday everyone 😀

Pumpkin picking with grandchildren
Autumn family traditions
Pumpkin picking farm in Yorkshire
Things to do with grandchildren in autumn
Family days out in autumn
Autumn memories with grandchildren
October days in the countryside
Yorkshire autumn activities

29/10/2026

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Geranium Rozanne …..

I couldn’t let this year go by without sharing this beautiful stalwart, the plant that everyone needs in their garden.

Rozanne is an award winning perennial cranesbill, named RHS plant of the Centenary, and I understand why!

This plant never lets you down. When the flowers appear in May, you know that it will continue for months, and it continues right through to mid autumn or until the first hard frosts. And just look at her flowers, aren’t they stunning?!

It’s an ideal cottage garden plant, looks good in containers or the borders and is great for under planting roses and shrubs. It’s a great w**d suppressor too!

Do you have Roxanne in your garden?

Happy Thursday everyone ….. I’m going pumpkin picking today. What do you have planned? 🧡🎃🧡

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28/10/2026

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After years of trying… and I’ve finally cracked it!

If there’s one plant that deserves the title of my gardening success of the year, it has to be Erigeron karvinskianus.

For years, I struggled to grow it. I tried growing it from seed, bought established plants, and still had very little success. I was beginning to think it simply didn’t like my garden!

But I wasn’t giving up.

Then I tried adding sand to the soil and compost to improve the drainage, and finally, something worked.

This year it’s gone from strength to strength, spreading happily and even self-seeding along the garden path. And here we are at the end of October, and it’s still looking gorgeous!

After a challenging gardening year, with heatwaves and little rain, it’s been a real pleasure to have something that has thrived.

Sometimes gardening is about trying, failing, trying again… and eventually finding what works.

I’d love to hear about your gardening successes this year, please share!

Don’t worry, I also had plenty of failures, which I’ll share at a later date, but let’s enjoy the good times first! 😀

Happy Wednesday everyone. We had a sleepover last night, so I’m expecting little people jumping into my bed very soon! 🥰

Erigeron karvinskianus growing tips
How to grow Mexican fleabane
Erigeron karvinskianus in a cottage garden
Improving soil drainage for plants
Plants that flower into autumn
Self-seeding cottage garden plants
Easy-going perennial garden flowers
UK cottage garden inspiration
Learn to garden
New gardeners

27/10/2026

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A little bit of blue to brighten an autumn day 💙

Sometimes it’s the simplest things that make you smile. 💙

Have a lovely Tuesday everyone 🤗

Pansy ~ pansy flowers ~ terracotta pots ~ autumn flowers ~ autumn colour ~ blue flowers ~ autumn colour ~ simple things ~ garden inspiration ~ rustic garden ~

26/10/2026

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‘It’s Murphy Monday!’

As you know, Murphy and I walk through these woods most days, and a couple of weeks ago we came across something rather unusual.

A little wooden stool, tucked away between the trees, looking out across the fields.
Now, who on earth would bring a stool into the woods? And why?

Was someone stopping here to sit and enjoy the view? Was it a little secret place to escape to for a while?

We found ourselves checking every day to see if it was still there. And it was … for well over a week.

Then, one day, it had disappeared. But that wasn’t the end of the story.

In its place, someone had left a little owl ornament, carefully positioned on the stones beside where the stool had stood.

Now I’m even more curious.
Who brought the stool?
Who took it away?
And who left the owl?

Perhaps it’s just someone who loves this little corner of the woods as much as we do, but I can’t help wondering if there’s a story behind it all.

Have you ever come across something mysterious on your walks? If you have, I’d love to hear about it. 🤔🦉🌳

I’d also like suggestions on what’s been happening with the stool and the owl ….. can you help solve the mystery?! 🤔

Happy Murphy Monday everyone 😀

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25/10/2026

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Did you remember?! …. 🕰️

The clocks went back an hour here in the UK overnight and our little lamp post will be earning its keep once again.

The mornings will be so much darker, the evenings will draw in earlier, and that little lamppost light will become a familiar sight until next spring.

I love seeing it glowing amongst the hydrangeas, especially now the flowers are taking on those beautiful autumn colours.

And talking about those hydrangeas? Aren’t they gorgeous? I think they’re my favourite shade at this time of the year. 🌺

The rambling rose needs a trim though, it’s trying to take over!

Will you be embracing the darker, cosier evenings, or are you already wishing the lighter nights would return sooner rather than later?

Hope everyone’s ok. We had a very windy, wet day here yesterday, but that was nothing compared to what I can hear happening outside at the moment, it’s blowing a gale out there. I won’t be walking in the woods today, that’s for sure! 💨💦💨

My bulb order finally arrived yesterday ….. after checking the weather forecast, I’ve a feeling they won’t be planted this week. 🫣

Happy Sunday everyone ….. I think I’ll be crocheting another pumpkin 🎃, did you catch it on My Story?! 🤔😀

Yorkshire cottage garden ~ English cottage garden ~ Autumn cottage garden ~ Cottage garden hydrangeas ~ Autumn hydrangeas
Cottage lamp post ~ Traditional cottage garden ~ Autumn in the Yorkshire countryside
~ Cottage garden inspiration ~ Cosy autumn evenings ~ garden lighting ~ vintage light ~ gardening ~ autumn colours ~ hydrangea love

24/10/2026

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I’ve been known to say that red isn’t my colour and definitely not in the garden!

But I’m beginning to think I might have to eat my words.

Lots of our roses are still flowering, and alongside them are beautiful red rose hips on our Francis E. Lester rambling rose.

I love how the garden is changing. The hips were orange just two weeks ago and look at them now.

Seeing the ‘Cherry Girl’ rose still flowering alongside the rose hips, has made me look at red in a whole new light, I’m loving the splash of colour, especially at this time of the year.

Perhaps I’ve been a little unfair to it after all?

Do you have red roses in your garden, or are you like me and usually steer clear of red?

Happy Saturday everyone 😀

PS. Photos from Thursday, yesterday was a bit of a write off, but all ok thankfully. I hope you survived the storm unscathed too. We’re getting ready for the second one, which sounds like it will have more of an impact than the first! 💨💦💨

Red roses flowering in October
Red rose hips in the autumn garden
Roses and rose hips in a cottage garden
Autumn roses in a Yorkshire cottage garden
Late flowering roses
Rose hips in autumn
English cottage garden in October
Autumn garden flowers
Cottage garden inspiration
Roses still flowering in autumn

23/10/2026

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It looks so peaceful out there… but not for long! 🌬️

Looking out at the garden yesterday morning, you’d never believe we’re expecting two storms here in the UK this weekend.

Blue skies, sunshine and the garden looking lovely from the comfort of indoors. I think I might be spending quite a bit of time looking through this window over the next few days! 😂

I’m hoping the garden gets through the weather without too much damage. I was moving pots around into safe places yesterday, I’m not taking any chances!

I’m sure we’ll be tucked up in our old cottage, with the log burner lit, watching and listening to the wind and rain do their worst outside.

Are you battening down the hatches this weekend, or are you somewhere that might escape the worst of it?

Stay safe everyone! 🤗

English cottage garden, Yorkshire cottage, cottage garden in autumn, English country living, cottage garden views, stormy weather in the UK, peaceful countryside living, looking out of the window, window views

22/10/2026

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Hellebores are often flowering from January through to March, sometimes even earlier, bringing life and colour just when the garden is looking really bare. They give us something lovely to look at while we’re waiting for spring to arrive.

If you have areas beneath trees, beside walls or in borders that don’t get much sunshine, hellebores can be ideal. They generally prefer partial shade and rich, well-drained soil.

They’re hardy perennials, so once established they can flower for many years. Their attractive, often evergreen foliage also provides structure when the flowers have finished.

How would you like three of these stunning plants for your garden? Well you could, if you’re the lucky winner of our giveaway with Golden Valley Plants , but there’s not much time left if you haven’t already entered, it closes today, Thursday 22nd October at 12noon. Visit my pinned post to see how to enter, but you need to hurry!

Good luck everyone …… the lucky winner will be announced tomorrow. 😀🤞😀

Gardening giveaway ~ hellebores ~ Spring flowers ~ hellebore season ~ autumn gardening ~ cottage garden flowers ~ shady garden ~ spring garden ~ pretty flowers z

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