I’ve been writing a monthly gardening tips article for the Whitchurch Business Group website this year (I joined for my garden design business), and it occurred to me that maybe I should post the articles here too. So here goes. Apologies if I’m telling you things you already know (but it might well act as a reminder – something I often need!)

Plant perennials & shrubs

The soil is still warm, and there’s unlikely to be a shortage of moisture, so the roots of plants put in the ground now will have a chance to establish before winter. Bearing in mind how hot and dry this summer has been, consider plants that will withstand drought. Perennials that proved resilient in my garden this year include sedum (Hylotelephium), Echinops, salvias, asters (Symphyotrichum), Yarrow (Achillea), Gaura (now renamed as Oenothera) and Verbena bonariensis.

Many shrubs were badly affected by the drought, but three that performed well are Californian lilac (Ceanothus), smoke bush (Cotinus) and, somewhat surprisingly, a hydrangea – Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ (though this was in part shade).

Divide perennials

Established clumps of perennials that have finished flowering can be divided now. Discard any old, woody, unhealthy sections. Re-plant healthy sections, and give away any spares to friends, family or neighbours.

Spring flowering bulbs

Daffs, crocuses, iris, snowdrops and the like can be planted in the ground or into containers now. Buy them from garden centres, or place an order with an on-line supplier. You can order tulips at the same time, but if your soil is heavy, it’s best to wait until November to plant them in the ground, to avoid the bulbs sitting in wet soil for too long before they’re ready to start into growth.

Covering pots with mesh, netting, chicken wire etc., until the bulbs start sprouting, will stop rodents digging them up and eating them.

Hedges…

Can be given their final trim before the onset of winter.

Apples

If you have apple trees, now is harvest time. Different varieties are ready at different times (and it can vary from year to year). Test them by lifting and twisting the fruit – if they come off easily, they’re ready to harvest.

Think about wildlife

Dead foliage and flower stems of perennials don’t necessarily need to be cut down until next spring. Left standing, they will provide habitat and food for wildlife over the winter.

Lawns

From now, into autumn, is the best time to repair lawns. Re-seed any bare patches. Dips can be repaired by cutting and peeling back the turf, packing with some more soil, and then resetting the turf. Humps (which often form as the result of ant activity), can be dealt with in the same way (but remove some soil, rather than adding more – obviously!)

Plant an Autumn pot

Plants that will have some interest over autumn and winter can be used to make an attractive arrangement in a pot. Use small evergreen shrubs such as skimmia and evergreen euonymus, as well as ferns, ivy, grasses, heucheras, cyclamen, etc. Use plants that will last through winter as well as autumn, and you can add spring-flowering bulbs too.

Collect seeds

There may be more seeds to collect, and when weeding, watch out for plants that have self-seeded. For instance, in my garden I’ve noticed quite a few seedlings of an attractive red salvia called ‘Royal Bumble’.

Dead-heading

Keep on dead-heading roses, and particularly dahlias. Mine have been poor this year – they really didn’t like the shortage of moisture. But they have picked up a little now, and should keep on flowering until the first frosts.

Happy gardening!