Ok...it's actually the third day of Autumn as I missed the first - water-skiing around the estuary in Mandurah. And, in true autumnal moodiness the weather has already begun bouncing around like a highly-tensioned rubber ball. Sunday, the first day of autumn, was a balmy mid 30°C's yet yesterday was in the low 20°'s, blowing a gale and threatening to rain at any opportunity.

That's the stark reality of this irrational season. While we often expect that autumn brings milder weather somewhere between the extremes of summer and winter, the truth is this is only experienced by statisticians who plot the season's averages over the long run. For the rest of us, autumn is that time period that fights between summer and winter trying desperately to hold onto the warmer months yet finally succumbing to the inevitable and producing weather that reflects the season ahead.

As a child I always assumed that once autumn turned up, changes were immediate: leaves would instantly discolour and fall from the trees, blue skies would start to host fluffy white clouds and sun-showers would be a frequent part of the season. In reality the season doesn't alter that quickly. Changes are far less instant than one might expect, or even hope for.

In fact, the first day of autumn can really be a complete let-down if you're expecting such sudden changes. The effects of this time period are, indeed, incredibly gradual. One day you notice a leaf has changed colour, then another, and yet another. A few weeks later there's no green left and a few more weeks after that, there's no leaves left. And then it's winter.

This sublimely cruel season tricks you into thinking that summer hasn't yet departed but reminds you that winter is already knocking on the door.

For gardeners, the first day of autumn is a welcome retreat. The physical changes may not have started but the gardener's headspace is already being consumed with tasks that need to be crammed into the next three months. Spring-flowering bulbs need to be ordered and planted, outdoor containers may need to be prepared for being winterized and vegetable crops will change tact over the ensuing months.

The blessings of autumn are that mowing and watering will slowly decrease. Even the plants that you thought were finally winning the war and taking over your garden will slow down their growth rate making summer pruning a redundant activity.

On the flip-side, the first day of autumn heralds the re-introduction of the leaf rake. Leaves, leaves and more leaves start accumulating on that lawn that you spent all summer manicuring reminding us that some of our activities are completely banal. Our climate and seasonal changes have a way of reducing our efforts to a mere passing of the time.

But, for me, the first day of any season clearly defines a marker in my garden's progress. Did I achieve everything that I set out to over our spring and summer months? Has the garden improved on this first day of autumn than it did at the same time last year? Did it survive summer better?

While I understand that the northern hemisphere doesn't recognise autumn until the Autumnal Equinox, here in Australia we mark it off from the first of March. Technically, we're probably wrong but seeing as we've adopted the current calendar that doesn't use equinoxes and solstices as it's gauge we're happy to continue our current practice.

So while we are celebrating the start of a new season, northern hemisphereans are still entrenched in their winter. Spring is still another 19 days away...