Hi everyone,

Today as I write this, the rain has finally stopped, and the sun is peeping through the clouds. Quickly, I bolt out the back door with Milo close on my heels to get a good look at our garden - its looked water soaked and bedraggled for the last few days and to see the sun shining on it, if only briefly is a relief .

Autumn is by far my favourite time of the year living in the UK… if I’m honest, it has always been a favourite really even when living in Sydney (although I had to head up to the mountains outside of Sydney to fully appreciate it!), so here comes my weird little confession - I have a slight obsession with Autumn leaves…

I don’t know what it is, but there is something truly magical about literally watching the season change. From the vibrant green of late summer, to the mellow gold of September, to the brilliant reds of October, autumn foliage seems to mark the change of season like nothing else. For me living in Australia, Autumn was March, April and May - we used to sweat our way through the sizzle of February, and I know its hard to believe living here - but look forward longingly to wearing a pair of jeans. Then March would come and the days would become softer, less searing heat, April would bring shorter days and perfect Pacific Ocean temperatures for swimming… the warmest time of the year for a dip. May would bring that nip in the air, and a little bit of colour change to the trees, but as I said, to really enjoy it you had to head out of Sydney and go higher to really see it in all its wonder… something I would look forward to, kicking up the leaves on the pavements of Leura or Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains.

Now living here in England I get to enjoy Autumn in all its grandeur every day, right in my back garden. Its quicker to start, and lasts longer… some years are better than others, but you always get a good dose. It never fails to brighten my heart to see the sun dappling through brilliant coloured falling leaves; with all that’s going on at present, we have to take these precious moments where we can find them … don’t we?

I think this is where my general love of foliage comes from too. You will all have seen our Botanicals range in store by now, and I have just ordered a new line of Silver Bell Autumn Eucalyptus to the range - it will add a touch of Autumn colour to our year round Eucalyptus collection, which is my little nod to the season I love best .

So if you find yourself out on a walk this weekend, and you come across a particularly beautiful tree full of Autumn colour - it is totally ok to gasp and ahhh, to wax lyrical about how pretty it looks (just make sure you don’t have your 16 year old daughter close by or get ready for the look of total horror!) … us Autumn obsessives are a special breed, and that’s the way we roll.

Take care, and speak to you all again soon. X