- Sow sweet peas in a cold frame or greenhouse for early summer blooms next year.
- Divide cottage garden perennials such as Crocosmia, this will improve flowering the following year.
- Pick autumn fruiting raspberries.
- Continue to deadhead plants such as delphiniums, roses & penstemons to prolong display & give colour well into the month.
- Don’t overlook hanging basket maintenance – a little deadheading, watering, & feeding can keep them going until mid-autumn. Once they are past their best, re-plant as winter/spring hanging baskets with spring-flowering bulbs, winter heathers, trailing ivies, pansies & viola’s.
- Start planting spring flowering bulbs.
- Bring inside tender perennials, such as fuchsias, gazanias, lantanas & abutilons before frosts cause damage.
- It’s a very good time to plant trees & shrubs, they will have time to establish before winter giving them the chance to get off to a flying start next spring.
- Evergreen hedges can have their final trim before winter.
- Climbing roses can be pruned once they have finished flowering.
- Mow your lawn less frequently during autumn.
- Harden your lawn up for the winter by applying an autumn lawn feed (Evergreen autumn lawn care). Do this after scarifying & aerating but before applying a top dressing.
- This is the last month to apply a lawn weedkiller.
- Cover your ponds with netting to stop leaves falling into your pond.
- Remove dead leaves from waterlilies as the foliage dies back. Now is also a good time to divide waterlilies.
- Take advantage of any dry weather to paint fences, sheds & other wooden structures – we recommend Ronseal products.
- Clean up patios & hard surfaces to get rid of moss & algae. Doing this now will prevent them becoming slippery during the winter – we recommend Patio magic.
- Remove any greenhouse shading as temperatures start to fall.
- Get your compost bins ready for autumn, when fallen leaves will quickly fill them – we recommend Garotta as a compost maker.
- Install a water butt to collect rain water from your down-pipe. Rainwater is very beneficial for watering acid loving plants like camellias & rhododendrons.
- Start to reduce your watering of houseplants as light levels drop.
- Plant prepared hyacinths before the end of the month to get flowers for Christmas.
- When bringing plants indoors, check carefully for any pests & disease they may have picked up outside, in particular red spider mite, mealybug & scale insect. Inspect rootballs & compost for vine weevil larvae. Please ask a member of staff for advice if you find any of the above on how best to treat affected area.