First Day of Autumn

The first day of autumn and I haven't been out in the garden for a while.

It's looking a little overgrown, with plants leaning on one another for support.

It's due for a severe pruning this year, but I won't touch anything that's still flowering for a while yet. I know that these late flowers provide vital food for bees and other insects, and since I maintain my garden primarily with wildlife in mind, I'll leave them for as long as possible.

I like the wild look: plants weaving through and tumbling over one another. I find it beautiful.

I've spent an hour or so out here today, watching the light turn everything golden as the sun moves us towards dusk. It looks like a painting - impossible to fully capture with my amateur photography skills, but I'll try.

A fungus village? Fairy houses?

A fairy semi-circle?

The grapevine, neglected and overgrown, nonetheless produced grapes this year.
Unfortunately we left it too late to pick them.

Grapevine.

Reaching for the sun.

Golden.

Sedum Spectabile - ice plant - excellent for wildlife gardens; late-flowering and easy to grow.

A gift from a neighbour. Newly planted with pretty pink flowers.

Nepeta - Catnip.

So many pretty spiders...

Chives, flowering again after being cut back several weeks ago.

Only three or four apples on our tree this year.

Next door's did somewhat better! Happily, our neighbours like to share their fruit!

Blue skies - nearly sunset.

A variety of mints.

The last few Comfrey flowers, beloved of bees.

The pond. Frogbit and Water Iris. And too much duckweed.

Creeping around by the pond.

Pot of forget-me-nots. Winter heliotrope, trying to take over.

The Bear, keeping me company.

A self-seeded poppy, wrapping its head around the tea table.

Nasturtiums. Self-seeded and edible. Deliciously spicy!

Shining through.

Lemon Verbena.

Last warm glow.

Sunset.

Update:
These photos were taken on Sunday. By Thursday, those fungi had grown!
I'm not foolish enough to assume that I know what species they are, but I might look them up, just for fun.