Savour the season

Autumn's not a time to tidy up and put your garden to bed for winter, says Adam. Embrace the season and revive your planting to bring interest for months to come

After taking on a new garden this year and dealing with the dry, hot summer, autumn has never felt more welcome. For me, this has always been a time of celebration, and a time to take a moment and enjoy the season.

Misty mornings, dew-covered cobwebs and the lowering of the light in the sky, which in itself can be used to spot or back-light plants, start to drive a change in the atmosphere outside your back door. Autumn can be a fast-changing season, with plants starting to decay at varying rhythms. Something magical starts to happen, and I love that change of pace-rich leaf colour, ageing seedheads and still a good show of flowers.

So why do so many people see autumn as a time to tidy up and put the garden to bed for winter? There's so much still to enjoy and, best of all, autumn is a great time to look at your garden and start to understand the structure and form of your planting.