Jo Langdon

I am afraid I am not a great one for New Year’s Resolutions. But I do enjoy planning for the new horticultural year and dreaming up new garden projects. It may be a chilly time of year with days that seem far too short, but there are warmer, brighter months to look forward to. So it is fun choosing seeds and working out what to grow for ornamental purposes or to eat. Seed potatoes are already in stock.

I was very fortunate to spend a few days in the Scottish Borders in October. I wondered if there would be any leaves left on the trees in the wake of Storm Amy. However, I was lucky and there was plenty of rich autumn colour to compliment the most beautiful scenery. In our more southerly climbs there are still plenty of chilli, coffee and caramel colours in November as the leaves seem determined to go out in a blaze of glory. So what causes leaves to fall in Autumn?

Christa has gone off me and it’s all I try not to think about — packing angles of chopped watermelon into tupperware, filling our drink bottles, walking with Lila towards the park. Lila zips ahead like the lines of a poem.