Gardeners Crafting Diary of Wonderment September 2026
Well, what a great month. Even though the autumn hedgerows are only just getting their bright-coloured berries, with leaves lightly tinged with a hint of cosy nights, it has been a month of full colour. From a simple observation of sun-kissed rooster feathers to admiring how fabulous the pink roses in my own garden are, there seems to be fabulous colour palettes everywhere, with the full flush of autumn still to arrive. Etsy has already started to slink into the festive season, with card sales going crazy, which is wonderful after my big rewrite last month.
1st SEPTEMBER
It's a sign!
It feels like only five minutes since I painted the first road sign for our Recycling Fair back in March, but here we are again, on the other side of summer, looking forward to cosy nights in with hot chocolate by the log fire. When I painted the first road sign, it was a great idea and the finished sign is wonderful, but painting the new details for each fair is a bit of a task. I'm not complaining, as it is quite relaxing; I sit painting them by the kitchen window, watching the sparrows in the birdbath with the window open so I
can listen to them chatting away in the angry tones they use. Big fan of sparrows and I appreciate their input during a mundane job!
3rd SEPTEMBER
Lickin Good!
As the horse chestnut trees start to dress in their autumnal attire, I have been fortunate to be still pottering in the garden, as it is lovely out there. I have a companion most days; this is Lickin, our cockerel. He's a beautiful soul, really gentle and sweet and often jumps out of his enclosure to come and see us. I thought that, as autumn is on the way, he is very fitting, with his copper tones and beautiful metallic shades. We hadn't planned on getting a cockerel; he was an unwanted baby, but a year on, he is such
an integral part of our family, a real little autumn treasure!
6th SEPTEMBER
Little Plant, there's a place in the middle of the sea,
A tiny ocean island of palm and gentle breeze,
Powdery cream sands lapped by long, shallow waves,
Paradise blessed with sunshine-filled lazy days
Little Plant, here's a story from a tropical land, where it's always warm, with the softest sand, with the gentle rhythm of see-through waves, not moving a sand grain
out of place. Hardly above the level of the sea, for this tiny island is unique, just like you and me! Though it's warmer than warm, the landscape's unworn, just a low hump of sand which is only just 'land'! With a soft ocean breeze gently tickling palm trees, with fruits in bushes and on the ground, it's a true tropical paradise waiting to be found! Remote and alone in the middle of the sea, this island has unique flora and animal species. Not part of changes like in other lands, for there is a perfect balance, completely unmanned.
7th SEPTEMBER
Lidl Peaches!
This may be an odd thing for me to include in a gardening craft blog, but it really struck a chord. I bought these peaches from a supermarket and I was really impressed with the paper sack they came in. I am always looking for new, innovative ways to pack things and had to wonder why things in plastic couldn't also go in these paper bags, like apples and carrots, peppers and plums? With the dark world we find ourselves currently living in, I seem to be noticing lots of little pretty or great things and these peaches are just one of many things!
9th SEPTEMBER
Fussiest person I know
This is a photograph of a card order nearly packed; it just needs the address label adding. However, there is something that really, REALLY irritates me and bugs me... the fragile word is the same length as the card width, so I like to have the full word along the bottom, not 'ilefrag' or something similar. Here you can see the 'E' is missing, grrr, with a gap before the 'F'. I know this is ridiculous attention to detail, but it really bugs me!
11th SEPTEMBER
Very Apricot
Yay, it isn't windy, a rarity, as it is continuous at the moment. This is a close-up of one of my dahlias. I have struggled all year to get close-ups of my flowers for the Adobe Stock portfolio I am compiling. The lightest gust of wind causes petals to move and as I am working with the macro lens, these slight movements cause blurring. I absolutely love the gradual colour change, never mind the strongly shaped petals!
15th SEPTEMBER
Bunny Rescue visit
We have three house rabbits who are allowed to free roam throughout the whole house. Of course, any 'spicy hay' wires have to be protected, anything wooden gets a remodel and any wallpaper a foot from the ground is fair game, so needless to say the house has a lived-in feel. Having a pair of bunnies is perfect as they have company of their own kind, but if one becomes ill and passes over the rainbow bridge, the rabbit left behind tends to pine and even if you get a replacement quickly, they can pass before
being bonded with the new arrival. Therefore, I like to have 3 bunnies bonded together. Our Tsuki passed recently and so we had a spare place for a bunny in need. This is Lando;, she needed a new home as her people were moving to a place that didn't allow pets. Lando is huge and really sweet, a proper snuggle-bun!
16th SEPTEMBER
Peacock Pom Pom
A lady reached out to me regarding my pom poms. She wanted a pom in peacock colours, which in itself was a delightful idea. I found a colour swatch card online and from this she chose her 3 colours. When I got them together, I felt it needed a fourth colour to really capture the peacock's look. I offered to add a fourth purple colour to her chosen greens and blues, but the lady asked for the pom to be made in five colours. Now, I love a challenge and I have always said anything and everything is possible, but oh my, this
was a tough one. I was really pleased with how the pom came out but most importantly, the lady loved her pom. All the effort was well worth it and I now know I can make a five-coloured shaded pom.
18th SEPTEMBER
Shades of Grey
Earlier I mentioned how colours seem to be jumping out at me right now in all different hues and shades, pastels, neutrals, hot colours, cold colours and everything in between. I was sat in my friend Zoe's front room and just noticed how not only these fabulous colours complemented each other, but the contrasting textures too. I love the idea of using these colours for a winter's day colour palette, as I said earlier, fabulous colours are everywhere right now.
19th SEPTEMBER
Sultry Sunset
I love this time of year as I am always up for sunrise. I absolutely love the very early mornings of summer, up with the blackbirds and cockerels at 4 AM, but in September you get those mornings with mist over the meadow under a dramatic sky and maybe, if you are lucky, a night dweller like an owl, bat or hedgehog. I love this sunrise as the orange and purple are so powerful, with nature's shades showing you how to go from one to the other; again, a toughie if you're not wanting to make brown!
23rd SEPTEMBER
Suddenly found pink!
Now, I am not a pink-loving person as a rule (I did say this month was all about colour!). I do like the dark vintage pinks that could be rust or orange in a certain light, but pink as a rule is a no-go for me. However, this summer I have discovered soft pastel pinks in the garden amidst my roses that have been around for years. This is the photograph that captured my attention: rose petals layered before opening. A few hours later on this sunny day, I could have missed this photo opportunity. I have now taken cuttings of
all my pink roses and plan to have them all along the front fence.
25th SEPTEMBER
Colour, colour everywhere!
WHAT a surprise, sorry to be gabbing on about colour, but I found this colour chart on Pinterest (it is not my drawing), but just look at those colours; there is my life's colour palette right there. I could never really describe the colours I like, often referring to them as 'dirty' shades when all along they were from the design period known as Art Nouveau. It makes sense, I guess and I don't know why I never realised sooner, especially with my love for the Arts and Crafts Movement. It certainly has been a month for discovery and wonderment.
27th SEPTEMBER
Over the moon again!
Back in early summer, before I had the treat of three months off, pottering around the garden, I re-vamped some old card designs. All of these designs had done quite well in the past, but for some reason their interest had dissipated, which was a shame considering how well they had done. This moon card design originally had a pale greeny grey stitched edge, but to lift the design, I changed this to the purple featured in the watercolour. The design had originally been for the winter solstice or Saturnalia, but I changed the
words inside to 'A moonful of blessings', making it generic for any occasion, whilst keeping a pagan aspect, as I used a rune font. The changes to this card have been wonderful; it is once again doing really well!
30th SEPTEMBER
Big event on the way
Here we are again, just 4 weeks away from our huge Samhain Yuletide Fayre. The preparations for this event are huge, with lots of decorations to make, signs to paint (again), social media posts to create, advertising to organise and a hundred other things. It is really exciting seeing everything coming together, ticking tasks off the to-do list, having catch-up meetings with my co-Raven Glen and generally getting things ready, way ahead of time. At any moment, my Etsy shop could go crazy with the chaos of the
festive season and so I have to have all my share of the fayre preparations ready way ahead of the event. Glen thinks I am super organised, but as I keep telling her, I'm just terrified of running out of time! I'm off now to try and find a Christmas tree seller for the start of November!
You have been reading Gardeners Crafting Diary of Wonderment September 2026
Comments