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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 is the rule. A single cold night will turn them to mush. So you gather what remains: the stragglers, the optimists, the ones that started too late. They smell faintly of tomato leaf, that sharp, green scent that clings to your fingers.

Some people use a paper bag with a banana. The ethylene speeds things along. Others prefer a sunny sill and patience. Either way, it takes weeks. The tomatoes sit there, a small defiant harvest, while the garden outside empties and the light changes.

They will not taste like August. But they will taste like something. A salad in October. A sandwich in November. The very last reminder that something grew.

Worth the wait.

Have you brought green tomatoes in this year? Share your ripening method in the comments.

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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 […]

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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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The apple harvest in Richmond upon Thames

The apple harvest in Richmond upon Thames is here. Trees in back gardens across Ham, Kew, and Twickenham are heavy with fruit. You might have a Bramley dropping into the grass or a Cox tucked behind the shed. This is the moment to pick before the wasps claim them all. Timing matters. An apple ready […]

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The Bench

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