An active weathery week has heralded proper autumn. Now that October is here, with high winds, driving rain, and day-time temperatures finally down into ‘normal’ figures, I’m shivering away, trying to keep cheerful by enjoying the beginning of the garden’s autumn colour. This week will be an autumn-foliage-filled special for my #SixonSaturday. My first this week is hypericum: leaves are losing their chlorophyll in a fascinating pattern, starting with red blobs symmetrically placed along each leaf. I wonder why?

A large cotinus is well into it’s autumn glory, green tones merge with purple as the winds tousle the broad leaves.

One plant that is barely showing the season yet is gunnera. Sitting by the pond overflow, the plant is statuesque, with leaves about 50cm across and the whole plant a couple of metres high and wide. Still looking lovely and green, I suspect one morning soon the frost will wilt it.

I always forget that alamancia has autumn interest. It is such a good value plant in spring, with delicate white blossom, and comes back into it’s own now, with vibrant, almost orange foliage.

Even garden perennials can do their thing towards autumn brightness. This vibrant red is provided by a couple of peonies: having hidden themselves in broad sight in dark green cloaks all summer, they finish with a colourful flourish. I’ll chop them down eventually, well into winter.

Last of my six this week, it’s hard to stop absorbing the limey brightness from a small old-fashioned mulberry tree. Each year it provides a few little fruit, but now, WOW, what wonderful colour to start a weekend on.

That’s my #sixonsaturday for this week. Hope the weather works out for a gardening weekend. Stay safe, keep gardening, and don’t forget to follow the crowd on twitter and via the web from links to the originator of #SixonSaturday, the Propagator himself.