As the leaves fall structure is revealed, as with this Chinese Virginia Creeper (P. henryana).

 

 Lifting the Dahlias. Hailing from Mexico and Guatemala originally they don't like Britain's cold and damp winters. Some gardeners in southern England do leave them in the ground covered with a thick mulch. Traditionally they are lifted and stored indoors over winter. 

 In both cases the stems are cut to a few inches above the tubers. If lifted the earth should be removed as much as possible. Some gardeners wash the earth off, some don't. Some leave them upside down for a few days to drain excess water from stems, some don't. Some store them in dry compost over the winter months, some wrap them in newspaper, some simply leave them in boxes or crates (as here).

 The main consideration is to store them indoors in a space with which is dry, not heated but where they will not freeze.  If they get too dry they shrivel, too damp they rot, too cold they die. As long as they make it through to spring they can be replanted for next year's display.

 

 Last mow of the year at the music school. Traditionally early to mid-November is the period for the final cut. After that growth is minimal until spring.    

 The old adage is that if your boots get wet walking across the grass then it's too wet to cut. Today was a misty morning i.e. damp. Cloudy sun and a light breeze dried out the lawn sufficiently by lunchtime to go for it. My boots were moistened by the end but not saturated.

 There are several good reasons for not cutting grass when it's wet. The blades rip rather than cut which also tugs at the roots. The blades get blunted quicker by wet grass. If the going is too soft the weight of the mower may leave unsightly indentations. Anyway a nice trim was achieved after the lawnmower posed for this photo opportunity. 

 Mowing the lawn was a favourite activity when I was a kid. As well as our own garden I would trundle the lawnmower across town to cut the grass for my gran. The child is father to the man? 

 

 I have been travelling back and forth between London and Hitchin a good deal in recent years. The train journey through the Hertfordshire countryside is (literally) a window on the seasons as they change.  

 Hitchin station is located in a deep cutting through chalk; amazing to think it was excavated with pick and shovel. The trees that colonise the banks above have morphed through their autumnal hues. Bare branches are stark against the skyline as the last leaves fall. 

The 'fall' has been taking it's time this year, long and colourful.

 

 The Mahonia x media cultivars have M. japonica and M. lomariifolia as their antecedents and possibly others such as M. bealei. This mixed gene pool has nonetheless hybridised various garden plants that look very similar e.g. 'Winter Sunshine' and 'Charity'.

 For the gardener they have the prized quality of coming into flower in late autumn/early winter when other flowers have faded. On warmer days they attract bees from their slumbers.

 NB the genus Mahonia is now considered to be part of the Berberis genus. For example M. x media is now B. x hortensis. 

 

Some pollinators from the days of summer... Brimstone on Bramble.

European Hornet on Sea Holly.

Bumblebee on Teasel.

Hoverfly on Wild Chicory.