COMING back from a holiday, as I have just done, it is always interesting to see how the garden has changed in the couple of weeks that we have been away.

Some plants have grown and come into flower, others have begun fruiting, and the lawn has always grown twice as fast as it does when we are at home!

But no matter how short the holiday, and no matter how caring the friend or relative you leave in charge of watering and feeding, there is no real substitute for the tlc that you can provide on a continuous basis.

In our backyard, carefully tended by my sister in our absence, the slugs have had a field day and the leaves of the runner beans have turned yellow through lack of feed.

You can't except garden sitters to deadhead the bedding and basket plants either, and these are rapidly going to seed and ceasing to flower.

The remedy is to go over them carefully and pinch out every faded flower or seed head; they will look a little bare at first, but will soon pick up and should continue flowering for another few weeks or so.

Once September has arrived though, I feel it is quite acceptable to have some plants in the garden sporting seed heads instead of flowers.

Indeed, with some plants the seed heads are almost as pretty as the flowers, and can be used to prolong the 'flowering' season.

Others are not quite so decorative, but will provide important food for birds and small mammals through autumn and early winter.

The seed heads of annuals such as Love-in-a-mist and Scabious 'Paper Moon' are obvious examples, as are those of Teasels, Clematis and the ornamental grasses.

Others are less obvious, but once you get into the habit of thinking before you cut off faded flower heads there are plenty more.

Some species of Rodgersia have strong spikes of golden brown seeds, and many of the Umbellifers, including the tall herb Angelica, hold their seeds in smart poses.

Many herbaceous Geraniums have long, pointy seed pods that split along their lengths as the glossy black seeds ripen; the rounded capsules of Poppies are especially ornamental and can be cut and dried for indoor flower arrangements.

The seed heads of the giant Himalayan Lily, Cardiocrinum giganteum, are up to three inches long, pale brown, with toothed edges almost like small creatures.

Only one word of caution - these ornamental seed heads are generally full of seeds, and the plant's aim is to spread as many seeds as widely as possible throughout the garden.

So make sure any seed heads you do leave are not those of invasive weeds or of vigorous plants that will be difficult to weed out next summer!

Jobs for the gardener this week:

l Prune Hydrangeas after the flowers have gone over.

Lightly remove the old flower heads, then cut around one third of the oldest stems down to ground level to encourage new growth.

l Raise the height of cut on the mower and cut lawns less frequently as the cooler weather slows down growth.

l Give fruit trees and bushes a dressing of autumn fertiliser, low in nitrogen but high in potassium and phosphorus.