Generaly

This last week of heavy rain has really put a dampner on summer bedding. The poor petunias are sad and as far as Gazanias are concerned, mine have not flowered for weeks! We had a double “whammy” this week with the rain came the cold. The ground needed the rain…………….  but can we stop now?!

Look out over the next month for bargains in local DIY and Garden Centres as they try and clear gardening stock for the Christmas stock. My local DIY was selling some gardening things for 25% less!

• Lay new turf and re-sow bare patches of lawn
• Pot up colchicums into decorative containers for bringing into the house
• Put up bug boxes to provide places for beneficial insects to hibernate
• Cut attractive seed heads for indoor arrangements
• Spread netting over ponds or water features to stop autumn leaves falling in
• Buy spring bulbs for autumn planting
• Order bare rooted roses, shrubs, fruit trees and hedging to plant over the coming months
• Brush away fungi and mushrooms growing on lawns
• Build a leaf bin out of posts and chicken wire to collect autumn leaves into
• Rake moss and thatch from lawns

The Flower Garden

• Plant daffodil bulbs in pots and borders
• Check roses for suckers and cut off any you find, just below ground
• Trim conifer hedges to neaten their appearance and control height
• Empty pots of faded early summer bedding, adding old plants to the compost heap
• Buy tulip bulbs as soon as you find them but hold back from planting until late October-November
• Dig up gladioli corms after flowering to store until next spring
• Collect seeds, lay them out to dry, then store them in labelled envelopes
• Prune rambling roses, cutting out old stems that carried flowers and training in new shoots
• Take lavender cuttings by pulling off new shoots and inserting them in gritty compost
• Cut back perennials past their best

The Fruit and Vegetable Garden

• Keep picking summer-sown salads to prevent the plants running to seed
• Plant garlic cloves outside or in modular seed trays ready to plant out later this autumn
• Cover herbs like basil and parsley with cloches, or bring potted ones under cover
• Harvest globe artichokes
• Stake tall Brussels sprouts to stop them from blowing over
• Dig up chicory roots, cut off their tops and re-pot for forcing, to grow on in a dark shed
• Wrap grease bands around the trunks of apples, pears, cherries and plums to trap the crawling female winter moth
• Plant out spring cabbages
• Dig up onions and lay them out in an airy space to dry before storing

The Greenhouse

• Take root cuttings from Japanese anemones and oriental poppies
• Pot up prepared hyacinths into bowls for indoor displays
• Pot up rooted cuttings taken in summer and early autumn
• Plant paper-white narcissi in pots
• Remove shading paint and netting to let in plenty of light
• Water dormant pots of cyclamen that were left to die down for the summer, and keep them in cool conditions
• Plant freesia corms in pots
• Check greenhouse heaters are in working order
• Bring pots of tender perennials and summer bulbs into the greenhouse
• Install a water butt under the gutter of your greenhouse to collect autumn rain fall

Have a great week gardening.

Andrew