All summer our garden has been buzzing with bumblebees, but there have been very few honey bees.  Now the situation has been reversed.  The recent cold mornings have killed off all but the mated young queen bumblebees which will be bedding down for the winter on their own.  For the honey bees though September is an important harvest time.  Supplies of pollen and nectar are needed to sustain the colony through the winter months.  A late feast on our sedum and verbena bonariensis could make the difference between life and death for the colony.

And they need all the help they can get.  Last winter was a bad one for honey bees despite the cold January and early spring which should have been favourable.  According to the British Beekeepers Association there was a 13% decline.

I don’t know why the honey bees steered clear of our garden in the summer.  Presumably there was more on offer nearer home, but its nice to feel we are doing our bit now.  Next year I hope we will have plenty of honey bees all year round.  From our own top bar beehive.

This is our very own cat’s ear.  It is the latest wild flower that I have identified in our wild flower meadow.  Its flower is like a small dandelion, but its stem is longer and thinner so it sways even in a light wind.

The good news is that it is an important food for many insects and farmland birds, such as linnets, and its scrawny rocket like leaves are good in salads, tasting less bitter than its close relative the dandelion.  However, it can spread and displace other plants so I will need to keep it in check.  Thankfully we have some sheep visiting soon for an early autumn graze and apparently they are very partial to cat’s ear shoots. Much like us then.

Everyone this autumn seems to have surplus fruit.  We have had one bough down on our katy apple tree as I wasn’t quick enough to unburden it, and the pear and plum trees have been just a laden.  For a couple of our espalier pear trees I removed 75% of the fruit a couple of months ago and this has really paid dividends.  We have had our best pears ever.  Note to self for next summer.

So what to do with it all?
Plums don’t store well, so my approach is to eat plums every day until you can’t bear the sight of another plum (until next summer).  I’m not mad on plum jam, but the River Cottage plum chutney is a winner for any plums you can’t face eating.

Pears don’t store well either so they are best left on the tree and picked as you need them.  I find it best to bring them indoors when they are still hard and to ripen them for a couple of days.  Beware though as pears have a nasty trick of rotting from the inside out, so don’t let a healthy exterior fool you.

Apples are much more versatile.  Cookers can be stored through to the spring as long as you have a dry, frost free apple store.  Cookers and eaters can be crushed to make apple juice.  All you need is an apple crusher and an apple press.  If you have too much juice, it can be frozen (or given to thirsty friends).  A nice problem to have.