My Garden Journal 2026 September

We have now reached the ninth look at my garden journal in 2026, which seems to have arrived far too early. Recent months have been hard work with droughts and extremely high temperatures. Surely September can only get better!

I began my September journal by writing, “September is a confusing month because it doesn’t know which season it belongs to. It could be summer if we go on what we observe or autumn if we believe the Met Office. I would give it a season all of its own or perhaps with October. Perhaps we should follow the Japanese system of seasons which directly reflect what is going on in nature. That gives 72 seasons each year!”

Moonlit skies become silvery with hints of purple. Some plants have carried on as if we have normal weather for the time of year with a few ferns regaining bright green foliage, persicarias bursting back into flower and regaining fresher colours. In a shady patch impatiens and a begonia enjoy putting on new growth giving them such a fresh healthy look. Cercis siliquastrum branches are dripping with seed pods.

Over the page I concentrated on colourful flowers that have defied the long dry period. I wrote that, “After such along hot dry period it is amazing to still see bright flowers in all colours of the rainbow. Skies have been so cheerful!”

Working in the garden is always a joy except of course in heavy rain but nothing much else stops us once we get started. I noted that, “There is so much to do in the garden trying to repair damage and keep plenty of interest throughout.”

The photos show us weeding, edging the lawns, taking succulent cuttings, and cutting down damaged grasses.

Weeding in the borders.

Planting succulents out into containers.

Taking succulent cuttings.

Over the page and garden jobs remain the subject, two jobs caused by other people. I wrote, “We had to completely renovate two patches of our garden damaged by others and not the weather this time.”

“The long front edge garden was destroyed bypeople with heavy machinery digging a long channel through the village. One day they dumped their materials all over the plants in our front border, flattening them.”

“This small long and thin border needed a revamp because visitors to our neighbouring house tend to drive over it.”

For the last page in my entries for September I turned to the wildlife in our garden, where I noted that, “Wildlife seems busy this month in the garden. We are acutely aware of all the sorts of creatures above ground, on the ground and even below the ground. Below ground we find so many worms in every spadeful of soil and this is a good sign as they are so important. Actually on the ground is where we discover beetles, woodlice and mammals such as woodmice, voles, weasels and shrews. Above ground birds birds are the key elements plus of course bats, moths, butterflies and masses of insects.”