Autumn Garden Advice
SEPTEMBER
General Maintenance and Tidying
Clear the ground of summer bedding plants, and fork it over. Prepare for the new season by tidying areas of your garden where spring-flowering plants will grow. Tidy up beds – cut back dead stems and dead flower heads from fading perennials, and remove annuals that have finished flowering. Feed half-hardy shrubs with sulphate of potash to help ripen the wood and make the plants less susceptible to disease and frost damage
Planting
Plant out all spring bulbs (with the exception of tulips which are planted in November). Plant bulbs during any dry spells, starting with narcissi. Plant the bulbs at twice their depth and plant in large numbers of the same in drifts. Plant bulbous irises for late winter and early spring flowering, and lily bulbs for next summer, as soon as they become available with suppliers. Now is the time to plant out specimens that will give winter foliage such as evergreen shrubs and grasses, heucheras, ivies and heathers. New climbers can be planted whilst the soil is warm. Plant conifers and other evergreens while ground is moist and still warm.
Winter Hanging baskets
Now is the time to plant up your winter hanging baskets especially those containing winter-flowering plants. They should be planted as early as possible as plants will not grow much in the winter and so won't initiate flower buds. Try and have them planted by the middle of this month
Rose Garden
Deadhead repeat-flowering shrub, bush and climbing roses. Apply a feed of sulphate of potash in the next few weeks to help ripen the wood and make the plants less susceptible to disease and frost damage during the coming winter.
Lawn care
Twist out dandelions with a daisy grubber or cut them out with a knife. After a summer of mowing the lawn will accumulate dead growth at soil level (thatch) this needs to be scratched out with a rake. If patches of lawn need repairing, sow grass seed on sites prepared earlier. Sow when the ground is moist, but on a wind free dry day. Lay turf from mid September onwards.
Clearing
By the time we reach September summer bedding is exhausted, so a good clearout is essential. Pots that contained tender plants can be emptied, cleaned and stored in the shed for winter.
In the Vegetable Garden
Clear away all spent crops and dig over the ground. All potato crops should be lifted before we reach October. Marrows, pumpkins and winter squashes can be cut when they are a good size and then lay them out to harden in the sunshine for a good 2 weeks before taking them indoors. If wet weather prevails a sunny windowsill is a suitable alternative.
OCTOBER
General Maintenance and Raking
Plan out your planting scheme and improvements for next year.
Rake up leaves from the lawn and remove leaves from ponds and water features. This is a good time to apply slow-acting fertilisers, such as bone meal. Dig over any beds that are in need of an overhaul, and generally keep all parts of garden clear of fallen leaves.
Lawn care
Continue to mow the lawn and top dress it with a mixture of sharp sand and compost evening out hollows as you go. If you didn’t do this job last month, then scarify the lawn using a spring-tine rake this will remove moss and dead “thatch”.
Rose Garden
Cut back rose bushes by about one-third to help them withstand winter winds. Use the prunings as hardwood cuttings.
Planting
Plant new trees and shrubs, including heaths and heathers, and stake standard specimens likely to be vulnerable to strong winds. Plant clematis with the rootball 6 inches below soil level, this will protect from clematis wilt. Secure clematis plants to supports. Continue to plant bulbs, such as Iris xiphioides and tulips, for early summer flowering. Sow sweet peas in a sunny, sheltered site for early flowering. Plant out wallflowers, Campanula medium, forget-me-nots and bellis daisy plants for spring. Divide and replant overcrowded clumps of tough-rooted perennials such as hostas and hardy geraniums and begin planting for flowering next summer.
Containers and Urns
Use frost-proof containers for a winter display. Bulbs planted together with an evergreen centre-piece will give a simple yet cheerful display.
Re-home any remaining pots containing tender plants in a cool garage or shed for winter survival.
Prepare for the Nearing Winter
Secure the new tendrils of climbers. Repair and make good outbuildings and broken fences where necessary. Divide herbaceous plants and dig plenty of compost into the borders.
In the pond
Place netting over ponds to catch leaves.
Mulching
Woodland borders should be lightly mulched with ornamental bark, ensure not to cover the crown of the plant.
In the Vegetable Plot
Lift carrots, beetroot and turnips as soon as possible. Sow broad beans 25cm apart then cover with cloches these will be ready for an early harvest next year. Use cloches to protect lettuce and spinach and other leaf crops. Plant garlic cloves in small pots in the cold frame, the crop produces a much better yield if exposed to the winter months.
NOVEMBER
General Maintenance
Keep lawns and beds free of leaves. Gather up fallen leaves to add to the summer’s lawn mowings to make compost or spread around any tender plants to protect them from frost.
Re-firm the soil around plants which may have loosened after periods of wind and rain or frost. Check all plant supports and make sure that ties are well secured, making any necessary replacements. Protect tender specimens and exposed conifers which are prone to windburn by surrounding them with a windbreak material such as plastic sheeting.
Lawn
This month the lawn will have one last mow before next spring. Make sure the lawn edges are cut in and neat and that the lawn itself is free from leaves. The leaves can be rotted down to make leafmould
Planting
Tulip bulbs can be planted from November through to Christmas. Whilst the soil is workable fruit trees, ornamental and deciduous trees and shrubs can be planted. Topiarys and box can be added, creating structure for the winter months. Complete planting of tulips and lilies. Continue to plant herbaceous perennials such as primulas and polyanthus.
Rose Garden
Plant out bare-rooted roses as soon as possible. Prune back any damaged roots to sound wood, and prune stems as necessary before planting.
Greenhouses
Now is a good time to tidy the greenhouse and temporarily remove all plants so you can clean the glass. Ventilate cold greenhouses and frames whenever the weather permits, to allow air to circulate and to prevent the build-up of diseases such as botrytis (grey mould).
Vegetable Plot Containers and Urns Ponds Pruning and Cutting back Compost
Winter leeks can be lifted and heeled into a trench or a bucket of compost in the shed.
Bring container-grown fuchsias and hydrangeas into the greenhouse or shed to over winter. Re-home any remaining pots containing tender plants in a cool garage or shed for winter survival.
Overhaul pool pumps, fountains and filters.
For soft fruit bushes, such as mature blackberries remove a third of the old shoots at the base. For redcurrants, whitecurrants and gooseberries prune the new growth branching from the main stem by half. For raspberries leave only the pale and vigorous canes for nest year.
A simple compost can be made from the garden leaves collected throughout the previous months. Place in a plastic sack and dampen slightly then tie the bag and piece with holes. Leave this in a corner to rot down and it will become next year’s mulch.
