October

It is fair to say that September brought us quite a variety of weather, with the hot spell at the beginning of the month seeming to confuse things in the garden. Now, as we inch further into autumn, rather than our gardens winding down, it seems to have given them one last hoorah. So far, the temperature has been quite mild, but the leaves are definitely changing and starting their autumnal display with gusto. Aside from enjoying the beautiful colours, please find below some suggestions for gardening jobs to complete at this time of year.

• Once the frost has come, lift dahlias and store. If you overwinter your tubers in the ground, remember to protect them with straw or mulch.
• Raise ceramic containers onto pot feet for the winter.
• Clear borders of frost-affected herbaceous planting and remember to remove all the stakes and supports, unless they are kept in for ornamental purposes.
• Pre-order (where possible) any bare root or root-wrapped shrubs and trees, ready to be planted in November. This is a more affordable way of creating impact through quantity in your garden i.e. a new hedge.
• Prune back buddleja by half to help prevent root rot.
• Hardwood cuttings can be taken now and propagated on for the New Year’s planting.
• Check tree ties are stable and secure before we are faced with heavy winds. However, it is crucial that they are not too tight.
• If you’ve had black spot or scab in the garden during the growing season and are now clearing leaves, ensure the leaves are destroyed and not composted. Any diseased leaves should always be removed from the garden. Otherwise, the problem can be exacerbated the following year.
• Mow only when necessary and ensure the mower height isn’t too low.
• Continue to remove leaves from lawns and out of ponds. Leaves in the borders are fine as long as they are disease free and don’t stop air flow around woody plants (i.e. roses and lavender). The little creatures living in our gardens benefit from leaves left over. As they decompose, they benefit the soil and worms.
• If you haven’t already got one in place, consider creating a leaf pen so that you have a good amount of carbon (brown material) to add to your compost when you need it.

September

Despite the increased temperatures in early September, there are already signs that autumn is on the way.

With a wonderfully colourful time of year ahead of us, fresh, bright mornings and evenings are something to look forward to. I personally find autumn an exciting and pleasing time of the year to be out in the garden. It is a time of reflection and an opportunity to start planning for the next growing season.

• This is a good time of year to plant new perennials, especially towards the end of September, as the soil is still warm, but moisture levels are increasing.
• Continue cutting back perennials that are fading and dying down. Make sure you look at areas you might otherwise not, like marginal plants around ponds.
• Spring-flowering bulbs are now available in plant centres, garden centres, and online.
• Keep an eye out for vine weevil damage to plants and grass, and do a nematode treatment while the soil is still warm enough to break the lifecycle and control the population.
• Give evergreen shrubs and hedges a final trim before winter.
• Start planning for shrub and tree planting in the autumn.
• Start cutting the grass a little higher as it will start to slow down its growth now.
• Plan for, and book in, autumn lawn treatments i.e. winter care and scarifying and aerating.
• Collect leaves out of ponds and continue to do so until all the leaves have dropped – it pays off to be diligent in this task and makes pond maintenance much easier in the long run.
• Continue to deadhead, but slow down feeding – September is the last month for feeding really, but if you have Dahlias, now would be good to do a folia feed so that they can maximise photosynthesis for storing in their tubers before the first frost hits (make sure you feed your Wisteria to get that flower display in for next year!).