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Dahlias and asters keep Richmond gardens ablaze into autumn

Dahlias and asters in Richmond gardens are carrying the colour into autumn just as the roses fade and the apples ripen overhead. These are the workhorses of the border when everything else has given up.

Dahlias throw out blooms until the first frost catches them. The dinner-plate varieties look slightly absurd, like someone glued tissue paper to a stick. The smaller pompoms and cactus types sit more comfortably among the grasses. Either way, they refuse to quit.

Asters arrive late and stay loyal. The Michaelmas daisies scatter purple and pink across the back of the bed. They ask for nothing, tolerate clay soil, and the bees treat them like a last-chance saloon before winter.

You can cut both for the kitchen table. Dahlias last longer if you sear the stem ends with a match. Asters just need clean water and a bit of luck.

The trick is planting them where they will not be upstaged by summer’s showoffs. Let them have their moment when the light slants low and the air smells of woodsmoke and windfalls.

Autumn belongs to them now.

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The first leaves turning in Richmond gardens

The first leaves turning in Richmond gardens signal autumn’s arrival with quiet certainty. Horse chestnuts at Marble Hill Park show yellow edges. Lime trees along the towpath glow amber in late afternoon light. The change creeps in slowly, then all at once. You notice it first in the morning. Shadows stretch longer across the lawn. […]

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The last tomatoes in Richmond gardens are coming indoors

The last tomatoes in Richmond gardens are coming indoors now, bundled in newspaper or lined up on kitchen windowsills. The green ones will never see another warm day outdoors. But they will ripen. Slowly, reluctantly, they turn from hard jade to blushing orange to full, soft red. You pick them before the first frost. That […]

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The garden in Richmond turns as the first chill arrives

The garden in Richmond turns as the first chill arrives. You notice it first thing, stepping out with tea in hand. The air has weight now. It sits differently on your skin. The change is everywhere once you look. Apples hang heavy on the branch, their skins taut and ready. Touch one and it comes […]

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The free blackberries along Richmond paths are ripe now

The free blackberries along Richmond paths are ripe now, hanging in thick clusters wherever the hedgerows have been left to run a little wild. You will find them on most canal-side walks, along the Thames Path between Petersham and Ham, and in the quieter corners of Bushy Park where the brambles tangle themselves into the […]

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Sowing for spring in Richmond gardens starts now

Sowing for spring in Richmond gardens starts now, while the apple harvest still fills kitchen bowls. You might think the growing year winds down in autumn, but gardeners know better. October is when next year begins. Tulip bulbs, alliums, crocuses: they all want to go in before the first frosts. The soil is still warm […]

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