Preparing for next spring

Seed heads split open in the summer sunshine, with the rich black seeds inside. It's just part of the relentless battle between order and chaos that rages, in a quiet, unassuming way, in our tiny back garden. The order, such as it is, would be the neatly maintained beds of carefully chosen plants that we always intend to look after, but never seem to quite manage. Chaos in the opposite corner is represented by the plants that actually grow in the garden. Some we've planted, others we've moved around and quite a few have arrived by more random means - presumably wind-blown or carried in by birds. The gravel between the hard slabs of the patio and the soil of the flower beds is an environment in transition, constantly encroached upon by 'plants in the wrong place' aka 'weeds'. With friendly visiting cats, not to mention wildlife, we don't like to use chemical agents to control the weeds, and instead try to keep on top of it with sporadic bouts of weeding. There is something satisfying about it.