Autumn has truly arrived with brilliantly-coloured leaves, red berries (with sorbus berries quickly devoured by blackbirds) and the first snow on the top of Ben Wyvis. We still have a mini-mountain of apples to process, herbaceous plants to prune and pots and baskets to plant.

Temperatures at night are getting steadily colder, but we haven't had a ground frost yet. I'm still picking dahlias, chrysanthemums and coloured leaves from blueberry bushes and the Prunus x subhirtella 'Autumnalis' for arranging in church.