Misty Autumn day

We've finally had a proper frost and that means the end of any tender plants left outside. 
I still have a few Nasturtiums and they are abundant in leaf but very few flowers. I have pulled some of them up but the rest will have turned to slime now. Also the Dahlia foliage is blackened so the tubers can be dug up and stored somewhere dry and cool. 
I have a few tender plants in pots and have already taken them into the greenhouse. Now cleared of all tomato and cucumber plants. This week I have eaten the last of the tomatoes. When I cut the plants down I brought in anything likely to ripen. Sadly all gone now. 
A couple of weeks ago I was out on a misty, grey day:

Spider web on an everlasting pea.

Grasses are fabulous in Autumn.

Everything is still beautiful. Well, maybe not everything. There are plenty of dead slimy plants which should be tidied up. I leave many things for structure but it can look very messy if you don't tidy up at all. I leave the teasels as long as possible but if they fall over a path or get broken they have to come out. 
I'll potter about in short bursts outside over the next few months and tidy up a bit at a time. Sometimes I have to force myself to go out but it's good to get out and earn that cup of tea back in the warm.

Seeds

I'm not quite putting together a seed order yet, though I did get my first catalogue in the post this week.
I'm celebrating the wonder of seeds.

This is one of the most familiar seed dispenser. Very effective at shaking seeds everywhere. 

This is Geranium nodosum. You have to be quick to catch these seeds. Those little cups at the top start at the bottom and ping up when ripe, throwing out the seeds. If you are lucky you can catch one still sitting in the cup.

Nicandra

Mallow

 

Lunaria before ripening

Salsify makes the perfect globe seed head.

Some we can eat

Just look at how these unravel. I can't help pulling them apart in wonder. It's a weed, in case you were wondering.

Clematis before turning into a fluffy seed head. 

To me seeds are the most amazing things. These are just a few that I have managed to capture. All that potential wrapped up in a tiny package and dispensed in so many different ways. Nature is so effective at her job. 
Actually I think I will go and get out those seed catalogues...