In a Country Garden

A beautiful bouquet, from floral designer Brigitte Girling, to capture the last of the dahlias, with delicate seedheads and autumn leaves

As the calendar turns to November, the clocks have changed and dark descends earlier each day. But the light we retain is soft across the sepia tones that shroud the fields, tree branches and hedgerows.

This is not a time to be too tidy in the garden. Skeletal stalks, grasses and seedheads are the favoured spots for insects to wait out the cold winter. Hollow stems fill with ladybirds and lacewings, and goldfinches feast on thistles and teasels.