September - Month of Change and Gathering
“It is still summer but the summer is no longer alive. It has come to a standstill; nothing withers and autumn is not ready to begin.”
– Tove Jansson
There’s a blending of the seasons in September. If we’re lucky, we head into this lovely month still basking in the warmth and glory of Late Summer then by the last week or so of September our thoughts turn to Autumn.
Late Summer* is a gentle season. It doesn’t burn bright with the energy of full summer but it has yet to embrace the rounded softness of Autumn. There’s still plenty of colour outdoors, things to gather and make into treats and often we still get the warmth. And yet this is tempered by the knowledge that summer is almost over. The days are still full of summer but there are signs of Autumn creeping in around the edges.
*The idea of a fifth season of Late Summer is rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The season runs from the third week of August through to the Autumn Equinox at the end of September,
Change
In September it feels like we’re on the cusp of change as the wheel of the year turns. I’ve heard this time of year referred to as Sortumn, the magical point between Summer and Autumn. When we know that summer is slowly unfurling into Autumn and we can prepare ourselves for the change. A chance to acknowledge the colder edge to the evenings, which are definitely starting earlier now, the increase in cobwebs, the leaves on the Horse Chestnut trees that are turning – they’re always the first to change, and the warming colour palette. Soon there will be misty mornings.
This sense of change is acerbated by the return to school. The start of a new academic year, going up a class and embarking on another year of learning. September has that feeling of getting your pencil case ready for the next phase.
I’ll be using these last weeks of Late Summer to make the most of the season. To collect up, add to and celebrate my summer memories. Of expansive days spent outdoors, warm picnics, visits to the beach, outdoor festivals, brightly coloured wild flowers, summer holidays, beautiful gardens, warm evenings and meals in the garden.
I suppose it’s another form of harvest. Collecting and preserving some of the late summer sunshine for the Autumn.
To use a harvest analogy, I’m definitely making hay while the sun shines!
Gathering
September is definitely a harvest month. A time for gathering. We’ve passed the first of the three ancient harvest festivals, Lammas now and the second festival Mabon falls on the 22nd September, coinciding with the Autumn Equinox - the point when day and night are of equal length, in terms of daylight.
There are blackberries in the hedgerows, orchard fruit ripening on the trees and the last of the elderberries. At this time of year love to gather up nature’s bounty and prepare for the Autumn months ahead. My hands are usually stained with dark juices from collected fruit and my legs shredded by the brambles!
I’m a big advocate of elder trees and at this time of year, if we’re lucky, they are laden with wonderful elderberries. These dark purple berries are hugely beneficial for boosting our immune systems and there are lots of delicious seasonal recipes you can make using them. You can read lots more about elderberries in my article here:
Elderberries ‘Medicine Chest of the Country People.'
Keep an eye on my social media to see what I find and make this September.
Don’t forget to gather some of the late summer flowers to enjoy in a vase indoors too. Think sunflowers, cosmos, dahlia, crocosmia, verbena, helenium, rudbeckia and asters. All the fiery oranges, deep greens, bright pinks, bruised purples and plums and the warmer hues of rust, mustard and brown make for fantastic cut flower displays. A real harvest party!
September is also a great time for gathering seed , ready to grow next year’s plants. There are still plenty of warm days ahead for planting and the warmth combined with rain makes perfect planting conditions. Plants can put their roots down into warm soil and get themselves established before the cold weather. This gives them a head start in the Spring.
Following Nature’s lead, September is a great month for planning in your own life too. Of putting the groundwork in now, planting the seeds of change so they put their roots down through the winter ready to get going in the Spring
I have a number of new projects and offerings underway - more nature and art workshops, pressed flower labels , a logo change and website updates. I’ll provide more details about these projects in my monthly newsletter which you sign sign up to below. And keep an eye on my social media accounts.
The Moon
The name of the moon in September gives us an idea of the seasonal qualities of this time of year - Bramble Moon, Corn Moon, Fruit Moon & Wine Moon.
It’s easy to see why these seasonal names are associated with September but I am intrigued as to the origins of the September moon’s other name – The Singing Moon. Anyone know?
The full Bramble Moon falls on 10th September and as this is the closest full moon to the Autumn Equinox it also earns the name, Harvest Moon.
I hope you enjoy these last few weeks of Late Summer. That you find a little time to notice and enjoy its bounty and some space to take stock of all that happened over the summer months. I’d love to see your late Summer photos so please do post using the hashtag #WildSeasonalInspiration, so I see them. Have a great September!
I’ll be back with another article next month as we welcome in October - the most Autumnal of months.
Further Reading…
There’s a blending of the seasons in September. If we’re lucky, we head into this lovely month still basking in the warmth and glory of Late Summer then by the last week or so of September our thoughts turn to Autumn.