I’ve been puzzled by the flashes of colour in the garden. It’s nearly the witching hour of Hallowe’en so we aren’t expecting much but we have random marigolds and cosmos and salvia. The sunlight is almost magical and I am bemused at the new colours present in the garden. I planted them so I shouldn’t be surprised but there is very little yellow or pink! Can I cheer really loudly? Californian poppies are still appearing and HotLips Salvia has flowered again.

Orange is predominant, which is a Halloween shade but we have purple black salvia. Which I had worried we had lost. There was a stripy rose but it has lost most of its petals when I sneaked around the garden.

I will have lots of jobs to do if I choose to rise to the challenge of utilising my days off. The garden is shockingly messy and there are pruning jobs needing done. I will check with the Met Office to see whether we will be blessed with more of this gorgeous weather.