CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:

Naturalised Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ in all its autumn glory on the dry bank beneath my quince and plum trees.

It’s often said that “one year’s seeding equals seven years weeding“, but what’s a girl to do when monarch caterpillars spin chrysalises on willowherb weeds? I couldn’t exactly pull out these seeding clumps of Epilobiumciliatum, could I? Convolvulus vines snaking up my

Cercis ‘Forest Pansy’ trees. When trying to eradicate these noxious vines, it’s best to cut them back and immediately paint the stumps with neat herbicide.

Let globe artichoke flowers dry on the plant for autumn arrangements. (OSH definitely wouldn’t approve, but they also make pretty awesome tiki torches.)