These September reflections are part of the Seasonal Reflections series — a year-long practice of living with the rhythm of nature.
Psst, can I tell you a secret? September is my favourite month – don’t tell the other months I said that! Whether it’s because of the cooler nights and vibrant colours of early autumn, the back-to-school energy boost, or simply because my birthday’s in September, I do not know. It’s probably the combination of all three. In fact, to me, September feels like a second May with clear, bright blue skies, fresh, vibrant greens and a promising new energy.
👉 In these September reflections, we’ll explore seasonal living in September — from the garden and kitchen to simple ways of making the most of late summer.
After the (more or less) unstructured days of endless summer heat, when we preferred to take a swim in the river, lake, or sea rather than tackle too many tasks, September’s more moderate temperatures bring back our sense of duty and responsibility. And just in time! The garden is still overflowing with ripe vegetables, the orchard is heavy with autumn fruit, and the elderberries are ready to be picked.
We’re on the home stretch of preserving all Mother Nature’s gifts. In a few weeks, the gardening season will come to an end, and September asks us to preserve this abundance before that particular harvesting window closes.
The days grow rapidly shorter now. When I get up in the morning for work, it’s dark again outside. Sometimes, when I drive to work, mists hover in the dips of meadows and fields, cloaking the familiar landscape in something mystic and unknown. On weekends, when I’m early in the garden, I find intricate spider webs on the fence that are embellished with dewdrops, like pearls on a string.
By the end of September (depending on the temperature), the first leaves on the trees will change their colour, ushering in a beautiful golden autumn. In Bavaria, we call those warm, sunny and golden autumn days “Altweibersommer”. This is often translated as “old wives’ summer”, yet another explanation is that it describes the time when fine spider threads float through the air, lending the season a magical gold-shimmering touch.
Now that the grain has been harvested and the last grass has been cut, the farmers are busy bringing the corn in. Later in the month, the potatoes are ready to be pulled from the earth. I remember when I was a child, coming back from school, having a quick lunch, and cycling out to the fields to help on the harvester till it was time to milk the cows.
Flower gardens overflow with an abundant, often second bloom. Roses and phlox take the stage again, while anemones, chrysanthemums and sedums make their first appearance, creating a burst of colour. When the first red and yellow leaves fall and mix with the flowers, I can’t get enough of that beautiful sight! It’s so full of life.
In the vegetable garden, we can still harvest tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, beans and lettuce. At the same time, early white and red cabbage heads are ripe, and we can make the first sauerkraut of the season. Never made it before? Don’t worry, in this easy recipe for homemade sauerkraut, I show you how it’s done.
Now we help our vegetables get to the finish line (that is: harvest) without pests or diseases damaging them before their time. Yes, this is still a topic in September, and I check on my green friends every other day for signs of infection or infestation.
Whenever I harvest plants, I close the gaps by sowing spinach, radishes, lamb’s lettuce and rocket salad for a harvest in late autumn and winter. But that’s not all: we can even sow some plants like broad beans and cold-hardy salads now. In zones 6 – 8, they can overwinter in the garden and be ready for harvesting early next spring. Here’s a comprehensive list of vegetables you can sow in September for an abundant harvest year-round.
The greatest garden task in September, though, is harvesting! It’s so satisfying to fill my baskets and containers with loads of beans, tomatoes, zucchini, cabbages, corn ears, peppers, herbs and much more. At the end of the month, we can also harvest pumpkins, a second batch of kohlrabi, cauliflower and broccoli and the first autumn lettuce like radicchio, endives and chicory.
Having harvested what’s ripe now, I carry my full baskets into the kitchen.
Preserving work in the kitchen hasn’t changed much compared to August or July; it’s still fermenting-freezing-drying-canning-making-jams season, my friends! Only the ingredients alter slightly.
From the orchard, blueberries slowly make way for blackberries and elderberries; pears and apples are joined by plums. I love making jam from the berries and freezing the rest. That way, I’ve always got some stock for a quick cake or as a healthy addition to a morning cereal bowl. The pears I love to preserve by canning them with sugar syrup in a water-bath canner or making jam from them. The method differs slightly from making jam from berries, but in this recipe for pear jam, I show you the basic steps. If you feel adventurous, why not try one of these pear jam variations?
Apples are mostly preserved in the form of apple sauce in my household, seeing as my boys consume at least one jar per week. But I make some jars of dry-canned apples for a quick Apfelstrudel or pie-filling. From the scraps, I make loads of apple vinegar each year.
Before temperatures drop too low, I harvest all my basil in the greenhouse in the garden and make a last batch of pesto. If the harvest is large enough, I dry some of the basil for tea. It tastes sweet and light and mixes well with lemon balm and calendula. I dry other herbs like mint, thyme and oregano on a rack for winter.
The last of my homegrown peppers and chillies are fermented now into a spicy hot sauce, and the first jars of homemade sauerkraut hold the remains of early cabbages.
The back-to-school, it’s-a-home-stretch, let’s-do-this-before-winter-comes energy of September is certainly very helpful for all that simply must be done now. I’m grateful for my newly-found motivation and focus now, don’t get me wrong. It’s almost like in March when I felt my energy levels rise anew and couldn’t wait to get out into the garden.
However, it’s easy to load too much onto our task plates now. With shorter days, I find it more demanding to work long hours. While it was easy to stay up late in July, I get tired by nine now when it has already been dark for almost an hour. Maybe I was a chicken in a former life, craving to snuggle in as soon as the sun sets… Anyway, to accomplish all I want, I know I have to set aside time for myself to make sure I can keep going at my self-induced pace. Let me show you what I do:
With shorter days and cooler temperatures, I suddenly crave more hearty dishes. A bowl of hot potato soup, roasted root vegetables or simply some cooked beans and cabbage from the garden are what I want now. While cold food like cucumbers and tomatoes were fine during the summer months, I now want something hot and nourishing in September.
To balance that kind of healthy meal, I love some apple pie or plum cake for dessert. Nothing like a large piece of “Augsburger Zwetschgendatschi”, a plum cake with yeast dough and a crumb topping that’s Augsburg’s signature cake, with a healthy dollop of whipped cream to ward off any autumn blues!
I also love making time for exercise. Whether it’s jogging, lifting weights or simply a long stroll through the woods, movement is my key to staying healthy and fit and keeping my energy up. If I can take that movement outside and take in as much sunlight and fresh air as I can get, all the better.
I’ve got my hands full already with harvesting and preserving in September, and now that school starts again, the load at work increases as well. Everyday routines haven’t established themselves yet, and sometimes it seems as if hundreds of invisible hands were tugging at me and pulling me apart.
To stay calm and keep a level head, I usually try to keep my mind as “clean” as possible. No audiobooks, no mindless scrolling, no challenging books. I’ve learned the hard way that getting too distracted and too “full” now will inevitably lead to irritation, bad sleep and making mistakes.
For that reason, I take the September weeks for a digital detox where I only check my phone twice a day to read my e-mails and respond to texts. And as hard as it is at the beginning, I realise how much calmer I am after a few days.
As often as I can, I go outside to get as much sunlight and fresh air as I can. It’s funny how these easy, free things can do us so much good.
When I realise that my mind is hopping from topic to topic, I sometimes grab my camera, head out and try to capture every aspect of autumn life I can see. That way, I’m not only completely “in the moment”, but I also have some good photos I can print out later for a photo board.
September is also a great time to (re-)connect with friends. In summer, everybody is either on vacation or on some beach or other, but now life has us back, and it’s lovely to meet up, sharing holiday stories or complaining about having to get back to work again 😏. I like it best to organise a gathering where everybody brings something to eat. That way, there’s plenty of food and the workload is manageable.
The summer heat did its best to slow us down, and, to be frank, I quite enjoyed the break. In September, however, life is starting again, and the pace accelerates once more. It’s ok, though, as our energy increases as well.
While August asked us to reflect on the year, September makes us move forward. After all, the year’s got only a few months left, and there’s still so much to do. To keep up with our own expectations, it’s important that we make time for ourselves, new energy or not. Whether it’s taking a stroll outdoors during our lunch break, deeply inhaling the fresh, crisp autumn air, or consciously watching the changes in Nature, doesn’t matter. What matters is that we take those short, conscious breaks from life’s pace to keep our energy levels sufficiently high for the next few months.
Let’s enjoy the sunny days while they last, smell the flowers, eat fresh produce from our gardens and wave summer goodbye. Autumn has arrived and with it an abundance of colour, fragrance and harvest second to none that invites us to a last fabulous dance on the stage of seasons.
September may bring new energy, but the seasons never stand still for long. If you’d like a little inspiration for making the most of each one, join me in the Seasonal Simple Life newsletter.
Every few weeks, I share seasonal ideas from the garden, kitchen and pantry, along with new articles and simple projects for living a little closer to the rhythm of the year.
Come along, and let’s see what the next season brings.
Every month has its own rhythm — from quiet winter days and the first stirrings of spring to abundant summers and the slow return of autumn.
If you’d like to continue through the year with me, explore the Seasonal Reflections series and discover the small changes, seasonal rituals and everyday moments that make each month different.
These August reflections are part of the Seasonal Reflections series — a year-long practice of living with the rhythm of nature.
And suddenly it’s August, the last month of summer.
The garden is producing generously, piling up enough fruits, vegetables and herbs to preserve for winter. We’re almost as busy in the kitchen as in the garden, what with fermenting gherkins, freezing excess broccoli, cauliflower and beans and cooking tomato sauce. Blackberries and blueberries have superseded gooseberries and raspberries, waiting not-so-patiently to be cooked into jams. Herbs are either hanging from the ceiling, drying quietly, lying in oil to flavour it or being transformed into pesto.
It’s still hot during the days, and when we’re not busy preserving our harvest, we try to escape the heat.
And yet, we can feel a subtle shift in August: the days are perceptibly shorter, the evenings can already be cool enough to make us wear a cardigan, and on some mornings, mist meanders across the meadows, telling us that autumn sends its regards.
👉 In these August reflections, we’ll explore seasonal living in August — from the garden and kitchen to simple ways of making the most of late summer.
August asks us to embrace abundance. The harvest is generous, the days are still long, and there is plenty to gather, preserve and enjoy before autumn quietly begins its approach.
As I work in a school, I have most of August off and can celebrate summer to the fullest during these hot weeks. Whenever the weather allows it, I’m either in the garden, going for a stroll through the meadows and woods where I pick wild herbs and flowers, or at the banks of the river Lech to cool down.
In the evenings I enjoy sitting on the balcony with family and friends, sharing simple summer snacks and cold drinks, playing games, talking and laughing. While we could sit outside late into the nights in July, it gets dark earlier now and with darkness often comes a chill in the air. It’s not really cold yet, but cool enough to fetch a sweater or a blanket.
We often light candles outside now and sometimes even torches. We do have solar lights, but the natural flicker of the flames adds a different level of that special feeling we Bavarians call Gemütlichkeit – warmth, comfort and togetherness – to the whole late summer night atmosphere, don’t you think?
These are the endless summer evenings we remember from childhood—the ones that seemed as though they’d never end.
🌞 Season: Late summer
🌱 Garden focus: harvest, preservation, planting for autumn
🍅 Seasonal foods: blackberries, blueberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, cauliflowers, broccoli, beans
🏡 Home rhythms: linen, decorations with grain, wild herbs and flowers
🧘 Seasonal rituals: picnics, swimming in the sea, a lake or river, eating outdoors
While in July, the farmers were beginning to harvest grains, they’re finished now. In some fields, the straw is still lying on the fields, waiting to be pressed into bales and brought into the barn for winter. My dad always aimed to have all grains harvested by mid-August so that he (and thus: we) had a short time of rest before potato harvest started. It always depends on the weather, of course, but most years, he managed it, and we had one or even two weeks, where we would enjoy the lull by doing what children do: seemingly nothing and yet everything.
Wild herbs like Saint John’s Wort, yarrow and tansy can be found on field edges, fallows, and light woods now, while the sunflowers in the gardens tell everybody what season it is.
In the vegetable garden, beans, broccoli and cauliflower are ready to be harvested now, and we certainly have no shortage of choice about what to eat every day. What’s too much, I freeze, can or ferment.
Depending on the weather, the most time-consuming garden task in August will be watering. August is usually a hot and dry month (although we have had exceptions), and our primary goal now must be to keep alive what cannot be harvested yet. I usually check my garden’s soil daily and water deeply every 2 – 3 days during dry spells. That sounds easier than it is, because I don’t have a water connection in my garden, but depend on collected rainwater, or, if that’s not enough, on driving water canisters to the garden.
Some vegetables that stay long in the patch, like pumpkins or cabbages, get a last dose of fertiliser by the end of August. Nutrients, especially nitrogen, that are fed after that time would only lead to excess leaf growth instead of flavourful cabbage heads or pumpkins.
The most rewarding August garden task, though, is harvesting! Cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, beans, cauliflower, broccoli, all seem to be ripe at once and at the same time. The time of abundant harvest we dreamed about in winter? That’s now.
Apropos winter: August is the perfect time to prepare for your winter harvest. Here’s a list of vegetables you can sow and plant in August for an abundant harvest year-round.
The garden has done its work. Now it’s the kitchen’s turn.
Like in July, it’s still peak preserving time. Brambles and blueberries have replaced raspberries and gooseberries, and wait to be frozen, fermented or cooked into jams. One harvest quietly hands over to the next, and without noticing it we’re already preparing for autumn.
By the end of August, the first apples are ripe, and we can seamlessly continue from making tomato sauce to canning apple sauce, making apple vinegar from scraps or dry-canning the apples for Apfelstrudel or pies.
Additionally, early pears can be harvested now, and either be eaten on the spot (which I must confess I often do until my belly hurts), baked into pies, canned or transformed into jam. If you’ve never made pear jam (or simply want to look it up again), here’s a basic recipe for a wonderfully smooth and flavourful pear jam. If you want to try some new flavour combinations, have a look at these pear jam variations.
The second (or even third) batch of herbs can be cut now and preserved however you like. Learn more about how to preserve herbs in this article.
Beans are still in high season, and you can easily freeze, can or ferment them for winter. The same goes for zucchini: whenever I’ve averted my gaze from them, they have grown again. Massively. If your zucchinis are the same, preserve them as zucchini pickles, zucchini bread or grate and freeze them.
Although I’m no fan of hot dishes, I’ve discovered fermented hot sauce for our winter pantry, which is a great way of preserving your homegrown peppers and chillies. (Psst: if you don’t have a garden, you can also grow peppers and chillies in pots.)
Let’s take the speed out of August.
With all the gardening and preserving, I don’t want to add anything else to my to-do list. Whenever I come across another “August bucket list”, therefore, I instantly click away.
After all, August is the time we craved during those long, dark winter months, the endless days of just being and enjoying we remember from our childhood. I don’t want to overload that time with another list of boxes to tick. We still have plenty to do, what with gardening, preserving, eating, and breathing. Let’s take the speed out of August and allow ourselves some room to breathe, shall we?
Whenever the weather – and the garden – allow, I’m outside, taking in as much sunlight and fresh air as I can get. I enjoy going for a jog in the mornings, when it’s still temperate or at least not too hot yet. I was a bit negligent regarding sports during the heat wave in July, and I’m happy to be back at it. Jogging makes my head free – all thoughts come up at one time, spin around in the circle of thoughts that lives in my mind and bow out silently. When I come home, sweaty and tired, I still feel exhilarated and able to tackle what the day will bring.
Another great way to get some exercise now is swimming. The river Lech is a 10-minute drive away from my home, and I often just grab a towel, something to drink, and my car keys and head out for a short break at the river banks. The Lech is always cold enough to be refreshing, and a short nap afterwards under the trees helps me re-energise.
I love making ice cream in August, partly because my eldest celebrates his birthday in mid-August and almost always likes to have ice cream with his cakes. All that energy that got burned off during swimming and running must be replaced…
August also gives me time to return to slower hobbies that require patience.
After all the busyness at the end of the school year that each July brings, I’m happy to have enough time now to do what I had to postpone earlier. Knit that scarf, for example, that I want to wear on chilly evenings. I’m not very experienced with knitting, and a project like this requires a lot of time, focus, and mental energy on my side. August is just the perfect time to do it.
I also love listening to and studying music I want to get to know better. This year, I’ve chosen to get better acquainted with Handel’s “Messiah”, an oratorio I’ve listened to several times, but which I haven’t grasped fully yet. The score’s already here, and I’m looking forward to immersing myself in this beautiful music.
When in July my mind was full of tasks that still needed to be done and things to think about, working with my hands calmed me down. This month, provided I’ve done my gardening and kitchen work, I allow myself to do only what I like to do and without driving myself into exhaustion.
Sunlight and fresh air are not only good for the body but also for the soul. So go outside every minute you can.
The sun’s rising later now, so that’s a good opportunity to get up early and watch a sunrise. Or walk somewhere new and watch a sunset, alone or with friends and family. Put your phone away and just look at the sun, witness it slowly setting and changing the light until it has finally disappeared.
Another simple idea is trying a phone-free day. Instead of doom-scrolling (yes, guilty here) and only witnessing your life through the lens of a smartphone, watch your surroundings closely, try to notice everything that’s happening. It doesn’t matter if you’re out alone on a stroll through quiet woods or sitting in a café on a busy street, looking at the buildings around you and watching people. Just be and see and don’t let yourself be disturbed by a digital device.
If you feel adventurous now, explore somewhere you’ve never been before. You needn’t go on vacation or drive far to do that. I’m sure there are museums, neighbourhoods, restaurants and cafés in your hometown that you haven’t discovered yet or have wanted to visit for some time.
To me, August feels like a caesura in the symphony of the year—a brief pause before autumn begins its next movement. Maybe because I have the time off or maybe because August feels slower in general, it feels like a break to me. A slower time that invites us to become slower ourselves.
And I usually accept that invitation and let myself take a short mental break from all the hustle and bustle of the months before. Now is a good time to look back at the year and ask ourselves what we’ve learned and what we’re grateful for. And maybe we even have some intentions for how we want the next months to be.
Let’s soak up every minute of this glorious late summer month, get outside as often as we can, and be grateful for beautiful, endless summer days. Autumn has already packed its belongings and is about to get on its way. Let’s take this small summer break and recharge our batteries so that we can be fully focused again when autumn knocks on the door.
If you’d like to walk through the seasons with me, I’d love to welcome you to the Seasonal Simple Life newsletter. Every few weeks I share new seasonal inspiration, recipes, gardening tips and simple ways to slow down and enjoy the time of year we’re in.
Come along, and let’s celebrate each season together.
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Seasonal inspiration for your garden, kitchen, and home—delivered with care every week.
If you’d like to keep walking through the seasons, you’ll find the rest of the Seasonal Reflections series below.
January Reflections: The Beauty of Rest and New Beginnings
February Reflections: Finding Peace in Winter’s Final Stretch
March Reflections: The Season of Transition
April Reflections: Learning From Spring’s Unpredictability
May Reflections: Growth Without Overwhelm
June Reflections: Living Seasonally in Early Summer
July Reflections: When Life Moves Outdoors
September (coming soon)
These July reflections are part of the Seasonal Reflections series — a year-long practice of living with the rhythm of nature.
July means harvest. The first great wave of abundance brings us fresh food for the table—and enough to preserve for the months ahead. Fruits, vegetables and herbs pile up and wait to be processed. Herbs dry on racks or hang in bundles from the ceiling; bowls of currants, raspberries and gooseberries are ready to be cooked into jams, and the first tomatoes are patiently waiting to become tomato sauce for the winter months.
👉 In these July reflections, we’ll explore seasonal living in July — from the garden and kitchen to simple ways of making the most of early summer.
As much as we need to preserve July’s abundance, the garden is calling us back at every time of the day. We rarely go back inside, except to store our harvest, quickly check the time or seek shelter from a passing summer thunderstorm.
Our life now happens outdoors, in the vast green rooms of our gardens: at the campfire, on a patio, on a pond or paddling pool, in the vegetable garden or the orchard where we snack like mad on as many fruits as we can eat.
July is the month when the walls of the house seem to disappear. Meals move outside. Conversations move outside. Work moves outside. Even sleep sometimes moves outside. We only return indoors to preserve the harvest, escape a passing thunderstorm or fetch something before stepping back into the summer again.
Some nights I find myself with all the harvest treasures in the kitchen – the days are too precious to waste on kitchen work now. Then, I cook jam and ferment garlic or make pesto that I freeze in portions.
As a little girl, I dreamed of growing so many fruits and vegetables that I would have enough throughout the whole year. And now I’m living that dream. What a luxury!
🌞 Season: High summer
🌱 Garden focus: harvest, fertilising, preservation
🍅 Seasonal foods: raspberries, gooseberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini
🏡 Home rhythms: linen, roses, decorations with grain
🧘 Seasonal rituals: campfires, swimming in the sea, a lake or river, sleeping outdoors
The village I live in is surrounded by meadows and fields. In June, I could watch the farmers making hay, and now, in July, they’re beginning to harvest the first grains. Winter wheat and barley are ripe now, and all of a sudden, the harvesters are everywhere.
The edges of the fields and tracks are blooming with wild herbs like Saint John’s Wort, yarrow and mugwort and in the gardens, roses, delphinium and lavender paint the scenery.
In the vegetable garden, beans are ready to be harvested now. I make a bowl of salad for us every single day, and the first tomatoes and cucumbers are ripe as well.
It’s so satisfying to take a stroll through the greenhouse and snack on sun-ripened, warm tomatoes right from the plant.
Afterwards, I “check” the blueberries to see whether they’re ripe as well. They usually are.
To be fair, the salad bowl I mentioned is mostly for my boys, as I’m usually well-fed when I come home from the garden 😏.
Apart from harvesting, which is a huge task now in July, watering and feeding come closely behind in second place. All the heavy feeders like cabbages, cucumbers, tomatoes, pumpkins, zucchini and peppers need plenty of nutrients now to produce fruit and thrive. For that reason, we must feed them every 2-3 weeks, at best, with some liquid fertiliser which provides readily available nutrients. Homemade comfrey or nettle manure are an inexpensive way to transform weeds (or wild herbs, if you prefer) into something useful.
There are, of course, rainy summer days, but usually we have quite a dry and hot summer here in Bavaria. That said, I check the soil in my garden daily and water deeply every 2 – 3 days during dry spells.
Talking of checking: pests and diseases are always on my watch list. The earlier we spot them, the higher our chances of defeating them. This is easier with pests, but also many diseases can be, if not cured, then at least contained so that they don’t spread.
Sometimes, after very hot and humid days, a thunderstorm forms. So let’s step inside, watch the spectacle from within and see what we can do indoors.
Preserving season is in full gear in July. Raspberries, currants, blueberries and gooseberries are ripe now and crave to become jams. Herbs are at their most aromatic now and are perfect for harvesting before they begin to flower.
The classic way to preserve herbs is by drying them, but there’s a lot more: I make lots of pesto, for example. Other herbs, I mix with olive oil and freeze them in ice cubes to add later to sauces, soups or pasta. If you want to learn more about how to preserve herbs, this article will teach you six methods to do so.
The first beans are ready to be picked, and the harvest is usually larger than we can eat right away. Great ways to preserve them for winter are by canning them in jars or by blanching and freezing them.
Zucchini can now get the upper hand in our garden, and as soon as we turn our backs on them, they sprout more and larger fruits than before. I love to put all this abundance in a jar of zucchini pickles, mixed with homegrown peppers and onions. Check out the recipe for zucchini pickles here, it’s delicious!
If you cultivate pickling gherkins in your garden, now’s the time to get them in. Gherkins are best harvested when they’ve not yet reached their full size. You can either pickle them in a vinegar brine or you ferment them. Find the recipe for pickled gherkins here and the one for fermented gherkins in this article.
July is the peak of summer – and if we were to split a year in half, July is diametrically opposite to January. Remember that time? Like seeds, we had stored our energy tightly within ourselves, waiting for the right time to germinate and sprout again. Now, in July, we distribute that same energy outwards in bursts of productiveness, joy and pure summer “high”.
Although we feel more energised now than in January, we must make sure not to burn out – figuratively and literally.
It’s often a challenge in July to get a good night’s sleep. When temperatures have been high for several days, our houses not only absorb that heat but also keep it in. My family and I sleep with all the windows and doors open at night, but I know that’s not possible for everyone.
It’s all the more important then, to get some sleep during the day. And what better way to enjoy a nap than outdoors!
I often head to the river Lech right after work and jump into the water to cool down. Afterwards, I take a short nap in the shadows. There’s nothing more refreshing than sleeping outside, well cooled after a swim and drifting off to birdsong.
In the heat, it’s important to eat lightly, too. Salads, pasta dishes, pizza and quiches with lots of vegetables are now a good, light source of nutrition. And don’t forget to drink!
Seeing as I’m working in a school, July is a very busy month for me, what with the school year coming to its end.
Apart from looking after my body and making sure I eat healthily and get enough sleep, I also need to calm my mind. Look, I’m kind of an overthinker, and my brain has at least 50 tabs open at the same time. On normal days. In July, it’s about 130. What helps me calm down mentally is working with my hands: weeding, watering the garden, chopping beans, fermenting gherkins, spinning wool I got from my garden neighbour and trying to make cords to bind my tomatoes.
It’s not about doing nothing. It’s about directing all that energy into my hands, letting my thoughts settle while the work gets done.
In the evenings, I love reading. It’s mostly light books now, cosy crimes (I’m a huge fan of the “Nosey Parker” series by Fiona Leitch, for example), but also non-fiction. I’ve recently started to re-read “The Golden Thread” by Kassia St. Claire, a wonderful book about how fabric changed the world.
And there are the open airs in July! Here in Augsburg, we have the “Fronhof Konzerte”, a series of concerts in the beautiful gardens near our cathedral. The cool thing about them is that you CAN buy a ticket and sit near the stage, but you don’t HAVE to. Because right behind the fence, there’s an open meadow where people sit on their picnic blankets (sometimes sharing a pizza and some wine) and listen to the wonderful classical music performed by the orchestra and singers. If you happen to be in Augsburg in July, attend these concerts!
Go outside every minute you can. If it’s really hot during the day, we can sit outdoors for a long time in the evenings and sometimes even at night. On very hot summer nights, I sometimes sleep on the balcony. It’s a marvel to watch the sun set and experience the lighter darkness outdoors, the sky illuminated by millions of stars.
In the morning, I get woken by bird song long before I can detect any sign of sunrise, but the birds with their fine radar know when it’s time to start singing. If you’ve never slept out in the open, give it a try. It’s one of those experiences that stays with you.
July is also a great time to invite friends over for a barbecue or garden party. Anything outdoors that lets us soak in the sun. To minimise the effort, ask everyone to bring something to eat, like a salad or a dessert. That way, no one gets overwhelmed or burned out, and everyone can enjoy the gathering with minimal effort of preparation.
Even though it can be demanding, July also invites us to enjoy it to the fullest. Now is the summer we dreamed of during those long, dark, cold winter months. All the energy that we had bottled up then can’t help but burst out into the open now!
We don’t just live in more light—we seem to become lighter ourselves.
The days may already be getting shorter, but we don’t notice it yet. This is the feeling of “endless summer” we crave so much throughout the year.
Let’s soak up every minute, get outside as often as we can, pause from time to time, look around and be grateful for a wonderful time. Autumn will come soon enough. Let’s make the most of these wonderful summer days while they last.
If you’d like to walk through the seasons with me, I’d love to welcome you to the Seasonal Simple Life newsletter. Every few weeks I share new seasonal inspiration, recipes, gardening tips and simple ways to slow down and enjoy the time of year we’re in.
Come along, and let’s celebrate each season together.
If you’d like to keep walking through the seasons, you’ll find the rest of the Seasonal Reflections series below.
January Reflections: The Beauty of Rest and New Beginnings
February Reflections: Finding Peace in Winter’s Final Stretch
March Reflections: The Season of Transition
April Reflections: Learning From Spring’s Unpredictability
May Reflections: Growth Without Overwhelm
June Reflections: Living Seasonally in Early Summer
August Reflections: Savouring Late Summer
These June reflections are part of the Seasonal Reflections series — a year-long practice of living with the rhythm of nature.
In June, we transition from late spring to early summer. Days start early and nights fall later, culminating in the Summer Solstice at the end of June with the longest day and shortest night. After the new green May brought us, we’ve finally reached what we’ve been dreaming of during those cold and dark winter months: the sheer joy of summer energy.
👉 In these June reflections, we’ll explore seasonal living in June — from the garden and kitchen to simple ways of making the most of early summer.
In June, I (almost) don’t need an alarm clock to wake up in the morning. In fact, I sleep with the blinds and the window open and let myself be woken by the early morning dawn and birdsong. Transitioning into the day with the help of nature instead of an artificial alarm is so much more energising than getting up against one’s inner clock, don’t you think?
And this is exactly what living seasonally in June feels like…
🌞 Season: Early summer
🌱 Garden focus: harvests, succession sowing, herb preservation
🍓 Seasonal foods: strawberries, peas, currants, elderflower
🏡 Home rhythms: linen, wildflowers, lighter spaces
🧘 Seasonal rituals: barefoot walks, sunlight, outdoor reading
Here in Bavaria, we traditionally watch for the “Frost Saints” in mid-May — after that, the danger of night frost is usually over. In fact, the nights can be pretty warm already, and I sometimes leave the windows of my greenhouse open during the night.
Flowers are blooming everywhere, be it in gardens, in parks, along field paths or in pots and containers on balconies and patios. Nature shows its full abundance without restraint. Nature is in full expansion mode now, pushing everything toward bloom and fruit. I think we should take that as an example sometimes and show all our “flowers” and facets. No holding back for Mother Nature, so why should we do it?
Speaking of which, I love gathering wildflowers now when I’m out strolling through the fields and meadows. A bouquet of buttercups, cuckoo flowers, daisies and wild carnations almost always decorates my coffee table.
When I go into my garden now, I enjoy the sight of all the blooming herbs and flowers, and I often harvest some fresh lettuce and peas.
June brings the first truly generous harvests. Apart from peas and salad, early broccoli and carrots, as well as many fruits, are ripe now. Honestly, I could live on strawberries, raspberries, currants and gooseberries right now. With a healthy dollop of cream. And maybe some biscuits…
Around St. John’s Day, herbs are traditionally believed to be at their most potent. If you’d like to preserve that summer abundance, these six herb preservation methods are a lovely place to start.
There are several vegetables we can sow and plant now to fill the gaps in the vegetable garden that form with harvesting. If you’re wondering what to sow and plant in June, I’ve put together a comprehensive guide here.
Planting, sowing and harvesting are only a few of the tasks we have to do now. For a full June gardening checklist, you’ll find all seasonal garden tasks here. And by all means, take care of your stressed gardener’s hands right now with this wonderful ritual.
But June is not always just sunshine and warm weather. When it rains, let’s step inside.
After weeks of living in a jungle of seed trays and half-grown vegetables, I enjoy a minimalistic décor right now. Clean windowsills, clean surfaces and pastel-coloured cushion covers. This allows the wildflowers I mentioned earlier to shine all the more.
The textures in my home change now, too: I prefer cool linen sheets for the covers and the table that exude a natural counterbalance to the heat and the colourful whimsy of all the flowers outside. Bonus points when the sheets have been air-dried on the clothes line outdoors and have that wonderful scent of sunshine and fresh air.
In the kitchen, I love preserving all the strawberries I picked earlier, for example, with a classic strawberry jam or these strawberry jams with a twist. I also bake fruit cakes now, like this strawberry dome cake and make desserts like in this recipe for super-quick strawberry tiramisu.
On my strolls, I now forage elderflowers, which I preserve as syrup. That homemade elderflower syrup is a great addition to drinks (for example, with prosecco), but also a wonderful addition to strawberry jam.
While I was sometimes a bit overwhelmed in May with all this new energy, I’m now full in flow mode and want to make the most of this wonderful early summer month.
I think by eating seasonally and going out as much as we can, we can give our bodies the best nourishment available. That said, freshly harvested ingredients from the garden, cooked from scratch or just tossed together as a salad, are just what my body needs right now. They provide enough fuel to sustain that summer energy without feeling heavy.
When we were children, my siblings and I used to go barefoot from May to September on the farm. At first, the pebbles in the courtyard felt quite piercing, but by the end of summer, we had developed a callus and could even run across them.
Now that the soil is finally warm enough, I also love taking a barefoot stroll around the garden or through the meadow. It not only reminds me to slow down but also helps me feel where I am. I refrain from walking over pebbles, though. Not all childhood memories must be repeated…
June has so many events, many of them open-air. The hardest part is choosing which ones to attend. In Augsburg, the town near which I live, there’s an open Art Night every June with dozens of events at different locations, and I’m looking forward to attending it.
And just because it’s warm and I want to do everything at once doesn’t mean that I don’t find the time to read. In the evenings in bed, of course, but I also love to read outdoors now. In fact, I have a picnic blanket in the car, and whenever I have to wait somewhere, I take the blanket and a book and look for a lovely place to read and relax.
Soak up the sunlight whenever you can. In the mid-latitudes where I live, we must store every ray of sunlight we can get to boost our vitamin D, which can help support mood and our natural rhythms. Let’s get out there and capture as much natural light as we can.
And why not combine going outdoors with meeting friends? I love inviting people over for an informal garden party where everybody brings some food, or we meet up, go hiking and have a picnic. Good company, good food, warm weather and sunshine – is there anything better in life?
June is one of those months that feels almost impossibly generous — with light, warmth, flowers, fresh food and opportunities to be outdoors. Living seasonally in June means harvesting what’s ready, preserving a little for later, gathering with people we love, and letting sunlight, birdsong and strawberry-scented kitchens remind us that life has seasons for flourishing, too.
Want to continue living with the season? Join my newsletter for monthly reflections, seasonal recipes and garden inspiration.
Want to continue living with the season? Check out all the articles of the Seasonal Reflections Series:
January Reflections: The Beauty of Rest and New Beginnings
February Reflections: Finding Peace in Winter’s Final Stretch
March Reflections: The Season of Transition
April Reflections: Learning From Spring’s Unpredictability
May Reflections: Growth Without Overwhelm
July (coming soon)
August (coming soon)
These May reflections are part of the Seasonal Reflections series — a year-long practice of living with the rhythm of nature.
May brings all that March and April have promised: new growth, new green, new light and oh, the smell of all the flowers and blooming trees and shrubs! Finally, we’re in full spring mode – even though we may not be used to it yet.
👉 In these May reflections: the garden, the kitchen, and the art of not rushing through the best month of the year.
A few days ago, I left the flat early in the morning and put my shoes on to leave for work. I was still a bit tired, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw my neighbours’ pear tree through the window. It was white, and I thought: “God, it has snowed tonight” – until I realised that the tree was covered in bloom!
And this is exactly what living seasonally in May feels like…
Nights can still be cold, though. Here in Bavaria, we can expect night frosts until mid-May. In fact, starting from May 11, we celebrate the days of the “Frost Saints” (“Eisheilige” in German), a bunch of saints whose commemoration days fall on the last expected frost dates around here. That doesn’t mean, of course, that from May 16 onward there won’t be any more night frosts, but mid-May is pretty accurate.
Everything seems to be happening at once: the grass suddenly shows a lush, vibrant green again, leaves and blooms burst out of trees that were still bare yesterday, and the birds and insects are busily hustling and bustling around.
The fruit trees are not the only plants in courtship mode, though. Early vegetables are ready to be picked as well.
🌿 Living with the rhythm of the seasons?
Join my Seasonal Letters for gentle reflections, monthly guidance, and reminders to slow down with nature.
While we still had to be careful about what we planted and sowed in the garden in April, now in May, we can finally transplant even the heat-lovers amongst our vegetables.
Remember when we seed-started peppers and chillies in January? Mid to end of May, we can bring them outside.
The cucumbers we grew from scratch? Plant them outdoors after the last night frosts.
If you have a greenhouse, those as well as tomatoes, melons and eggplants can even be transplanted at the beginning of May. Look here for a comprehensive list of what to sow and plant in May.
In many temperate climates, May is also the time of our first outdoor harvest. The radishes we sowed earlier, spinach, peas and salad are the first vegetables ripe for harvest now. I don’t know about you, but my body longs for fresh, homegrown food after all those months of preserves and ferments. A spring salad with eggs is now often all I need.
We can close the gaps that have formed when we harvested these early vegetables by sowing or planting others. This principle is called succession planting and, if done cleverly, it not only makes sure that you use your garden space efficiently, but also keeps pests and diseases at bay. Here you can read up on succession planting in more detail.
Planting, sowing and harvesting are only a few of the tasks we have to do now. Find a list of all garden tasks in May here.
But what to do when it rains? Well, let’s step inside and see.
When I have planted most of my vegetables, it’s time to clean the windows. Starting from January, when peppers and chillies moved in, my windowsills had become crowded during the last few months. Now, I enjoy the new minimalism with just some orchids – and maybe one or two seed trays with the next batches of veggies for the next gap closing.
To be honest, I don’t do much at home in May regarding cleaning, cause I’m mostly in the garden or outdoors to enjoy the “new green”.
In my opinion, you can either have a great garden or a clean house.
I’m choosing the former.
However, the first harvests need to be preserved. So, if I am indoors, you’ll probably find me in the kitchen, fermenting radishes, cooking woodruff syrup or making honey from dandelions or spruce tips. I mean, is there anything better than picking fresh vegetables from the garden or foraging in the woods and then coming home and making that harvest last?
Don’t let yourself become overwhelmed, though. There’s no need to hustle through May. Instead, let’s see what we can do for ourselves.
It’s so lovely to get outside right now. I didn’t know how I’d missed bird song and flowers, the scent of blooming trees, and the warmth on my skin until it all came back.
I don’t know about you, but I just don’t wanna rush through May. Instead, I’d rather choose a slow-living spring.
There’s only one May per year; let’s enjoy it to the fullest with these simple spring self-care ideas.
It’s easy now to wake up with the light, so why not grab the opportunity to do so? The sun rises early enough to have a long day ahead, but not so early that we get tired by noon. Even if you don’t want to get up with the sun on a workday, try it on the weekend. The slow energy of a May morning and the promise of a whole fine spring day ahead are worth the effort.
Get outdoors whenever you can, no matter the weather. Even a shower of spring rain can be wonderful for the skin (or so I keep telling myself). I, for example, love visiting the botanical garden in my town and enjoying all the blooming plants and the promise of flowers yet to come. But even when my time is limited, I try to enjoy my lunch or coffee break outside. Just a few minutes of sunshine can work miracles.
Any creative project you do now, do it outside. If that’s not possible, try doing it at an open window.
If you want to learn something new, why not try to make bouquets of wild flowers, make daisy chains or press flowers for later journaling.
Being the classical music lover that I am, May always means Mozart for me. Fortunately, Augsburg has a Mozart festival this month, and I’m looking forward to attending the exceptional performances. If there’s one composer who could capture the light-heartedness and cheerfulness of May, it is Mozart.
I also love reading poems in spring, especially those about spring itself and the power of renewal and new beginnings.
I love taking a few minutes every day and either going outdoors or opening the window and listening to the sound of spring. Often, I close my eyes, cause I can concentrate better that way. If you want to give it a try, check how many different birds you can make out, listen for bees or other insects, and see what other natural sounds you can hear.
When it’s raining, I love sitting next to a window or under the patio roof and watching the splatter of raindrops, hydrating the earth. It’s one of the pillars of the growth that’s now happening abundantly, and instead of complaining about the “bad weather”, let’s make it a habit of being grateful for the rain.
This week, drink one cup of coffee or tea outdoors.
No phone, no rush. Just the sounds, scents, and light of May around you.
Living seasonally begins with small moments of attention.
May asks us to be present while things speed up.
The key to not getting swept away is simple: step outside. Listen. Smell. Look up at a tree that was bare last week and is now full of green. Drink your coffee in the garden. Pick the first radishes with your hands.
Spring only comes once a year. All those long, dark winter months, we’ve waited for it. Now let us have it.
And although there’s a lot we can finally do again, we don’t have to match Nature’s pace. I rather think that participating in all that spring has to offer outweighs the hustle of productivity.
After all, how better to honour the gift of renewed life than by simply enjoying it?
If these reflections inspired you to get outside or into the kitchen, you might enjoy browsing the garden section for seasonal growing guides, or the preserving section for ideas on what to do with your first harvests. And if you missed last month, you can read my April reflections here.
Want to continue living with the season? Check out all the articles of the Seasonal Reflections Series:
January Reflections: The Beauty of Rest and New Beginnings
February Reflections: Finding Peace in Winter’s Final Stretch
March Reflections: The Season of Transition
April Reflections: Learning From Spring’s Unpredictability
June Reflections: Living Seasonally in Early Summer
July (coming soon)
🌿 Continue the journey: Each month, I send seasonal reflections, garden rhythms, and gentle living inspiration.