I hate to say it but

it feels a bit autumnal! We went for a walk on the beach. I wore my swimming costume under my jumper. A noble thought, but a wind was blowing so I took the wimps way and opted for a hot chocolate and a pastry at the beach café instead.The jumper stayed on!

There isn't much colour left in my garden now, I have a lot to learn about gardening in the shade. And such a pathetic crop of squash, thank goodness I've got an allotment, I shall hope for better things next year.

The varying leaf structures are pleasing and there is the odd pop of colour here and there.

The magnolia has been flowering all summer, one or two lovely blossoms at a time.

I'm pleased that the bougainvillea that I'd given up for dead is in recovery and giving a nice pop of pink.

And the red cherry tomatoes, grown both inside and out, are coming along nicely. We have been eating them for a few weeks now.

A good day.

We woke to a clear blue sky. Change of plans, we would head straight to the beach. If we get there before nine in the morning we can park the car with ease and walk down to the beach through the tropical garden. Half way down the path I always stop and look to see what the sea is doing, are there waves to jump about in or is it calm enough for a good swim? Also, is a strong wind blowing. I can't tell these things when we are at home surrounded by large trees and shrubs. I'm hopeful that the wind will be slight. The sea is a good temperature now, no problem in wading in, but if a wind is blowing it can feel a bit nippy once you leave the water. Ah, just a gentle swell and a quiet beach, just as I like it.

Families were arriving as we packed up to leave. Then it was home to our shady garden.

In the late afternoon, when the weather had cooled a little, we went to the allotment for another session of clearing the ground.

That's what I call a good day!

The produce show

On Saturday we went to the allotment produce show and scarecrow competition. The allotment site is extremely large and we didn't manage to find which scarecrow had been awarded the first prize in spite of having a good wander up and down the narrow paths that divide the many plots.

Second prize went to the nearby lady on a bike.

Not all the scarecrows were so charming!

It was interesting to look at the range of vegetables in the show, it gives me a good idea as to what will grow well in this thin soil, although of course I don't know how much compost the various allotment holders might have put into their plots to produce such good results.

One happy prize winner with a smile as big as his marrow!

I love the attention to detail.

Then it was back to my own plot to carry on digging up weeds and suckers. I've got a lot of work to do before I can think about planting anything. I walk past other plots. What a lot of beans! How will they manage to eat that lot?

The plot!

Does this look nothing more than a pile of weeds attempting to choke a sickly little pear tree? Well, yes, you're quite right, but for me it is a source of delight because AT LAST I've been given an allotment!

This is how it looked when we took it over last weekend, a sorry sight, the soil thin, the weeds, especially bindweed, rampant and the hut with a leaky roof and rotten floorboards. There will be a lot of work to do before the ground is ready for planting. Himself set to work on the hut and I gave an initial skimming to the ground. The business of properly clearing the earth will take time and muscle as fennel and rambling sucker roots have spread all over the place. (My space is actually a half plot but quite enough for me.)

I've chosen forget-me-not blue for the shed and the dry weather was good for painting but rather excessive for spending more than a couple of hours working on the plot. We've had several trips to the tip - those builder's bags are very useful!

Now that the surface weeds have been removed I can see what might be salvaged, a few raspberry canes , strawberry plants, two small, sad pear trees and blackcurrant bushes. My mind is already leaping ahead to next year's crops!

What I haven't mentioned is how friendly the other allotment members are and how varied the plots. On Saturday there is to be a produce show and scarecrow competition. I'm loving it!