In the Flower Garden

• Cut late-summer-flowering clematis right down to soil level
• Divide congested clumps of perennials such as asters, campanulas, rudbeckias and chrysanthemums after flowering
• Plant bare-rooted roses
• Dig up and compost exhausted summer bedding
• Plant out wallflowers, interspersing with taller-growing tulips
• Pile a thick mulch of compost or bark around hardy fuchsias to protect them from frost. You can also add some grit around the base of the plant for extra drainage.
• Move shrubs, including conifers and evergreens, that have outgrown their position
• Pot up tender perennials from summer displays to bring under cover for winter protection
• Pick leaves affected by rose blackspot and collect any lying on the ground nearby
• Cut down perennials whose seedheads aren’t worth keeping, digging in compost around them

The Fruit and Vegetable Garden

• Wrap grease bands around fruit trees to catch female winter moths climbing up from the soil
• Plant out garlic or start growing cloves in pots to plant out later
• Clear away old crops and dig over the ground
• Sow hardy peas under fleece for an early crop next year
• Harvest mature marrows, pumpkins and squashes
• Save fully ripe seeds from your favourite peas, beans and tomatoes to sow next year
• Pick apples and pears as they ripen
• Sow a green manure crop of winter rye on bare areas of soil
• Order fruit trees, bushes and cane fruits for winter planting
• Sow broad beans outside under cloches, or raise in pots to plant out later

The Greenhouse

• Insulate your greenhouse by lining the inside with bubble polythene
• Bring tender plants under cover
• Sow sweet peas in deep pots and overwinter in the greenhouse or a cold frame
• Check greenhouse heaters are working efficiently
• Spread out harvested onions on staging to dry thoroughly before storing
• Monitor day and night temperatures with a max-min thermometer and turn on heating if needed
• Water plants sparingly and avoid splashing the water around
• Move Christmas cacti to where they get short days and long nights, with no artificial light, to promote flowering
• Clean staging and wash capillary matting to use next summer
• Bring potted peaches and nectarines under cover

Generally Around the Garden

• Add old crops and bedding to the compost heap
• Spike lawns then brush grit into the holes to improve surface drainage
• Collect seeds from beans and sweet peas to sow next year
• Firm soil around newly planted trees and shrubs if they’ve been loosened by wind
• Check bulbs and tubers in storage for signs of rot
• Rake up leaves to compost into leaf-mould
• Sow a green manure crop of field beans on bare soil
• Build a log pile for beneficial insects and animals to use for hibernation
• Send off for new seed and bulb catalogues
• Check bonfires carefully before lighting to make sure there are no sleeping hedgehogs underneath