There’s always a point in August when I notice the change. It’s definitely still summer, the days are warm and I’m nowhere near ready to pack away the garden furniture, but every now and then there’s a tiny hint of what’s coming next.

The evenings are perhaps the biggest giveaway. It suddenly gets dark that little bit earlier and, instead of sitting outside until bedtime, we find ourselves coming in and putting the lamps on. I’ve even started lighting a candle again in the evening, which for me is usually the first sign that autumn isn’t too far away.

This is our first August at St Helena Cottage, so I think I’m noticing the changing season even more than usual. Since moving here in June, we’ve spent so much time discovering the garden and wondering what on earth half of the plants and trees are. Just when we think we’ve worked it all out, something else starts growing and gives us another surprise.

We’ve discovered a Pink Lady apple tree, along with pear, plum and cherry trees, and there are blackberries growing everywhere. We’ve already made an apple and blackberry crumble with some of them and I suspect there will be a few more before the summer is over. The lavender has been beautiful too, and I’ve been cutting and hanging bunches to dry ready to use in Eva Carys Botanica products over the coming months.

I love the fact that the garden is beginning to tell us that things are changing before the weather really does. There’s still plenty of summer left to enjoy, but the fruit is ripening, the lavender is beginning to fade and the evenings are slowly drawing in.

Meanwhile, step inside the Hygge at Home workshop and you’d be forgiven for thinking we were considerably further through the year.

Summer outside, autumn in the workshop

One of the strange things about running a seasonal business is that you always seem to be living a few months ahead of everyone else. While everyone is still enjoying August, I’m already thinking about cosy evenings, autumn gifting and what we’ll be doing for Christmas.

I promise I’m not quite ready to start talking about Christmas yet, although there may already be a few lists appearing behind the scenes!

For now, my attention is firmly on autumn. I’ve been working on this year’s Autumn Gift Box and making batches of our Pumpkin Spice candles, which means the workshop currently smells of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg even when it’s warm and sunny outside.

Pumpkin Spice is one of those scents that instantly changes the atmosphere of a room. I make ours using a blend of pure essential oils rather than a synthetic pumpkin fragrance, so it has that lovely warm, spicy scent that reminds me of baking, cosy kitchens and evenings at home.

I know some people are firmly in the “do not mention autumn until September” camp, but I’ve always loved this time of year. Not because I want summer to end, but because I enjoy the transition between the two.

There’s something lovely about having the best of both for a few weeks. You can still have the doors open during the day and spend time in the garden, but by evening it’s cool enough to light a candle, make a cup of tea and curl up on the sofa.

It feels like hygge starts quietly creeping back into everyday life without us really having to try.

Getting back to Hygge at Home

This autumn feels particularly exciting because, if I’m completely honest, Hygge at Home had been rather neglected for a while.

The past few months have been busy. We spent what felt like forever waiting to move house, finally arrived at St Helena Cottage in June, got the workshop up and running and then I threw another slight complication into the mix by training as a makeup artist and starting another business.

There are only so many hours in a day, and somewhere amongst all of that I lost my rhythm with Hygge at Home.

Orders were still coming through the website and being packed and sent, but I wasn’t doing all the other things that make the business feel alive. I wasn’t writing the blog, sending my weekly emails or sharing much on social media. I wasn’t giving the website the attention it needed either.

Over the past few weeks I’ve gradually been finding my way back into it, and it feels really good.

I’ve simplified the product range, started giving the website a much-needed spruce up and, perhaps most importantly, started enjoying creating for the business again rather than looking at an enormous list of things I should be doing.

I’ve also realised how much I missed making Eva Carys Botanica products. Pouring candles, making skincare and working with essential oils are some of my favourite parts of running Hygge at Home, so I want that side of the business to have much more of a presence again.

Perhaps that’s another reason I’m looking forward to autumn so much this year. It feels a little bit like a new season for the business as well as a new season outside.

Not wishing summer away

For all my talk of Pumpkin Spice and candles, though, I’m definitely not ready to say goodbye to summer yet.

There are still blackberries to pick, apples to watch ripen and hopefully plenty more evenings sitting outside looking across the fields. Our little group of quail is still appearing at the pond for a drink, the garden is still surprising us on an almost daily basis and we’re still discovering what life here looks like at this time of year.

I think that’s what I like most about late August. You don’t really have to choose between summer and autumn.

You can spend the afternoon outside in the sunshine and come in when the evening gets cooler. You can eat berries straight from the garden and have a warm crumble for pudding. You can have the windows open while a candle burns on the table. You can enjoy everything that’s left of summer while quietly looking forward to what comes next.

And perhaps that’s a very hygge way of looking at the seasons anyway. Rather than rushing towards the next one, there’s something to enjoy in the little transition happening right now.

So I’ll happily continue picking blackberries and making the most of August for a while longer.

Even if the workshop does smell suspiciously like October.

Laura 🌿

Founder, Hygge at Home