September – Seed Heads & Gathering
A Note from the Garden Room
September arrives quietly.
However,the brightness of summer has softened, and the light coming through the Garden Room window has taken on a richer, warmer glow. Outside, the garden is beginning to change. While flowers that were once at their fullest are now becoming beautiful in another way. Their petals fading, their stems drying, and their seed heads standing proudly amongst the remaining blooms.
There is something wonderful about this time of year. Nothing disappears all at once. Summer and autumn seem to meet for a little while, sharing the garden
together.
A basket of apples has found its way into the Garden Room, gathered from the garden and left on the table where their rosy colours catch the afternoon light. Seed heads have been brought indoors too, thistles, grasses and fading flowers arranged loosely in old jars and jugs.
Inside, the room is beginning to feel cosier.
The cushions on the window seat have changed to deeper, warmer colours, and a knitted throw has appeared, ready for cooler afternoons. The lemonade glass of August has been replaced by a favourite mug of tea.
And on the worktable, summer has begun to become something new.
The fabric panel that was only beginning to take shape last month is now partly stitched. One little flower has already been embellished with tiny French knots, adding a touch of texture and colour to the design. Beside it sits a reel of vintage cotton, its slightly faded thread a reminder that beautiful things do not always have to be new.
It is a month for gathering. Gathering apples. Gathering seed heads. Gathering fabrics, threads and ideas.
Gathering the last colours of summer before the garden turns towards autumn.
There is still plenty to discover.
From the Window Seat
The window seat has always been one of my favourite places in the Garden Room.
In July it was a place for bright mornings and open windows. In August it became a sunny corner filled with flowers and the colours of the garden.
Now it is changing again.
A rust-coloured cushion sits beside a faded floral one. A soft knitted throw is folded within easy reach. Outside the window, the garden catches the lower September sunlight, illuminating the last dahlias, tall grasses and seed heads.
I can sit here with a cup of tea and watch the garden slowly preparing itself for autumn.
It seems to me that seed heads have their own kind of beauty. They are not trying to compete with the flowers. They are quieter and more sculptural, little reminders of what has been, while carrying the promise of what is still to come.
Perhaps that is why I find them so inspiring.
On the Worktable this Month
There is something very satisfying about seeing a piece of fabric begin to come alive beneath your needle.
My September panel is no longer simply a piece of printed fabric waiting to be transformed. It has begun its journey.
A few stitches here. A little colour there. And one tiny flower already covered with French knots.
The reel of vintage cotton beside it is slightly imperfect and beautifully worn, just the sort of thing that belongs in the Garden Room. I love using old threads and fabrics alongside new designs. They bring their own history and character to whatever I am making.
The work does not need to be finished quickly. Therefore, September seems to encourage a slower kind of creativity, one stitch at a time, one idea following another.
Outside, the garden is doing much the same thing!
September Collections
This is the month when little collections begin to appear everywhere. 
A basket of apples.
A handful of dried seed heads.
A fallen leaf tucked inside a book.
A length of beautiful ribbon.
A scrap of vintage fabric.
A button discovered in an old tin.
The Garden Room has always been a place where such things are gathered, treasured and eventually turned into something creative.
Perhaps that is what I love most about autumn , it gives us permission to notice the small things.
Nature Notes for September
It is a wonderful month for observing the changing garden. Look closely at the seed heads before they disappear. Notice how the light changes during the afternoon. Look for berries beginning to colour. Listen for the different birds visiting the garden. And leave a little space for the unexpected. in addition, a goldfinch perched amongst the thistles, perhaps, or a butterfly still enjoying the last warm flowers of summer. The garden may be changing, but it is certainly not finished.
And Lastly, A Little September Thought
“Gather what inspires you — a colour, a stitch, a seed head, a memory — and let it become something beautiful.”
September is not quite summer and not quite autumn. It is a gentle in-between. A time for gathering. And a time for noticing. A time for making.
And in the Garden Room, the first signs of autumn are beginning to find their way into everything I create.