The English Garden

Autumn’s Odd Harvest

The slide into autumn is the busy punchline of the year, and so turning the corner into November feels like something of an exhale: the grapes will be pressed, the apples too, and their gentle ferment under way. Bar the brassicas and some winter leaves, the veg patch is now largely cleared of annuals, with compost added as a winter protection and slow soil improver. Whatever is yet to pick – a surprising amount for the perennial-rich garden – can usually hold off until tomorrow.

For the most part, the rush is gone. I can leave the grim days for being indoors, making plans, notes and

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