Plant trees, shrubs and perennials. Autumn is the perfect time to plant. The weather is cooler, rain is more plentiful and the soil is still warm. Plants at this time put on terrific root growth and will have a head start in the spring.
Clean up foliage from roses, peonies and any diseased plant. Look carefully at hellebores and cut out diseased leaves. Do not compost this material, burn it or put it in the green bin. Composting will not kill pathogens. This applies any time of year.
As perennials fade and are cut down, mark their position with small sticks. Some might not be apparent after winter and may be disturbed or destroyed by spring cultivating.
Herbs like rosemary, basil, oregano, marjoram, parsley mint and thyme can be potted up and brought indoors as houseplants. Do not over water and keep in a cool position.
Spring bulbs should be planted by now. There is still time for tulips in November but for daffodils, October should be the last planting time. If like me you have packets of these bulbs still languishing in their plastic bags, pot them up in some good potting compost and leave to plant up in the spring border. This can help to fill gaps in the border.
Take a visit to a garden centre and look at their autumn flowering shrubs, especially daisy varieties and grasses. Plant some to replace the annuals that have been sent to the compost heap. Work at this time of year will be rewarded next autumn with colour and movement in the border. Grasses like stipa gigantea might look too large, but if dotted through the border they will give you great pleasure for years to come. This is the time to divide perennials and fill gaps or give to friends, but do not divide grasses. Leave these until spring.
Do not tidy up the garden too much. Leave 'berried treasures' for the birds and other wild life. Gardens with the most wild life tend not to be the most tidy and manicured. Let nature take its course. Designate an untended area e.g. a little wood pile for toads, frogs and insects. Do not dead head hydrangeas until frost is past in the spring.
As I write this, the day is grey but hopefully by the time you read it we might have had some sunshine and the garden will still be looking good.
Hazel Wyatt
RSS Feed
