"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease, For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells."

After the fierce sunshine of late August, the seasons have turned in Burgundy. Over night, as if a switch were pulled, we have arrived in Autumn. Forgotten garden boots have been pulled out of hiding, the flip lops have been packed away. The smell of gently simmering casseroles fills the house, along with the sweet aroma of the first windfall apples stewed with cinnamon.

After a hard working summer I look forward to autumn. Life slows down and provides a welcome prelude to a well-earned winter of rest and recuperation.

But before the dark days of winter arrive, it is always a pleasure to go over summer photos and fond memories of the gardens here at The Hungry Cyclist Lodge. After three years of planting, this year the garden came into its own.

While I enjoy nothing more than heading out amongst the plants with camera in hand, it is always fun seeing the garden through someone else's eyes.

This summer we had the pleasure of hosting Jane Shankster from Arthur Road Landscapes in London. When not cycling, eating and drinking her way around the region, each morning she headed out with her camera and put together the exceptional gallery of images below.