Summer Loving

It has to be said, it's beginning to feel a touch on the autumnal side around here. Yes, already! But there is still a few last joys of summer to be relished. One of which is a local Flower Show, which took place yesterday. It's a small but wonderful exhibition of prize tomatoes, enormous leeks, sweetpeas, flower arrangements and pots of homemade jam, chocolate cake and gloriously sweet tablet. The competition is good humoured, but I suspect at heart the winners are quietly jubilant. I entered the 'Pot or Vase of Herbs' category with a mug filled with eight different variety of herbs from my garden (the courgettes having steadfastly ignored my encouragements and pleading) - and yes, I too was able to be quietly jubilant! A first! The certificate is now proudly on the kitchen wall, and prize money spent on a plateful of homemade cakes for the boys and...

all these fabulous local vegetables, grown by much better gardeners than myself. Don't they look great? Any suggestions for the beetroots? They are something I know I probably should be brave and eat, and will probably love, but memories of beetroots in jars of vinegar, brought out at childhood teatimes, has rather put me off. But I love the fabulous colour of the beetroot stalks, and the wonderful red-purple tomatoes with the red-skinned potatoes.

Despite not producing masses of glorious veg, the wee raised bed has done pretty well for our first year together, and we have eaten salad from it for ages, had some sweet little dwarf beans and a few courgettes, so I'm pretty happy. But the best things grown from seed have been flowers, and I think my private first prize would have to go to the humble cornflower. That blue! Summer's not finished until the cornflowers are.

Do you have any prizewinners you are loving in your garden right now?