AUTUMN is about to show its true colours so all around us there is beauty to behold.

Pick out the highlight in your garden and take a moment to enjoy it at this wonderful time of year.

At Arley the public are stopped in their tracks by the striking red liquidambar tree in The Grove. Their maple-like leaves are a common sight in their native America, but also seem perfectly at home here and provide us with one of the autumnal highlights at Arley.

It’s always lovely to see the rowen berries out and where there are berries there are blackbirds and thrushes eating them almost as quickly as they appear. Our holly trees also look to have plenty of fruit on them.

Folklore says this is a sign of a hard winter to come. We will see! The rootery is in a hidden corner of Arley, but at this time of year the autumn colours of an elegant acer earmark it for our visitors.

We’ve also been busy in this area, clearing some of the borders and leaving them fallow.

Right now we are busy buying and propagating plants to go into these spaces in time for spring. This is a really good time for reflection in the garden.

Look back over the year that was and before the memories fade look around your garden – possibly with notebook in hand – to assess the fruits of your labours in 2018.

It’s important to do it now as much can easily be forgotten. Learn from successes – and mistakes – so that your garden can be better than ever next year. Taking stock gives you time to plan ahead so that you can buy in the seeds and bulbs you want in time for planting.

It’s important to do this now before the first frosts when other jobs will suddenly become a priority. But most of all take a moment to enjoy autumn’s beauty. There are few better times in the garden, the air is fresh, the robins are singing and the colourful foliage is unmissable.

Jobs for this time of year

Keep raking up those leaves.

Keep the grass cut as now we are at the end of that very dry spell we enjoyed in summer the grass has enjoyed a growth spurt.

Dig through any earth where you have been growing vegetables, most of which will have been removed and consumed by now. Turning over the soil will make life that little bit easier next year.

Be good neighbours

This is the time of year when we have to look out for hedgehogs. It’s great to see them, but more importantly it is crucial to spot their homes, which look like a pile of leaves and garden debris. Just take care before sweeping it away and if you see anything like this with a small cage around it in the gardens you know we are just trying to keep the hedgehogs safe.