Autumn has now officially arrived! Bringing with it the familiarity of its misty, dewy mornings and beautiful display of foliage colour and leaf hues, it may be the turn towards the end of the year, but there is still so much to enjoy in our gardens.
October is also a fickle month – one day it’s an Indian Summer and the next day frost may arrive. In 2019, Northern England had its first frost on the night of 1st/2nd October, so we can easily be caught out this month.
Some plants or shrubs to enjoy in October
Pyracanthas (Firethorn) – this shrub will be displaying their beautiful orange, yellow or red berries at this time.
Sedums – these provide a stunning display of Autumn colour in the flowerbeds. They also make lovely cut flowers.
Nerines – bright pink flowers adding a real splash of audacious colour in October.
Chrysanthemum – these impressive flowers light up the garden in hues of pink, orange, red or light green.
Dahlias – these often flower into October, providing welcome late colour in beds and pots, until the first frost.
Rudbeckias – a reliable late flowering perennial, their bright yellow blooms cheer any Autumnal day.
Ornamental grasses – as the stems and seed heads fade, they make a beautiful airy addition to borders or flower arrangements.
General Garden Maintenance
• Autumn is a good time to work on the lawn. If warm enough, repair any patches by raking up the soil, covering with compost and grass seed. The lawn can also be raked to remove thatch, spiked to ease compacting and improve drainage, and given an autumn feed.
• Rake up and remove autumn leaves, if left on the lawn, leaves can kill the grass underneath.
• Prune climbing roses by a third, to prevent wind rock over the Winter months
• Autumn is also a good time to plant perennials and shrubs. The soil is warm and there is less leaf growth, so the plant puts energy into roots
• If you have deciduous trees in your garden, consider saving the leaves to make leaf mould for use as a mulch or compost next year. Rake up and pile the leaves into a wire netting pen or put in black bin liners. Note: putting air holes in the bin bags prevents leaves rotting down to a slimy mess.
• Continue cutting back perennials to keep the garden tidy. Peonies, Leucanthemum, Nepeta (Cat Mint) Delphinium, Hardy Geraniums, Phlox can all be cut down to ground level now.
• Less hardy perennials, such as Penstemons, are best left with the top growth in place for now to provide protection from frosts.
• Bring any half-hardy or tender plants like Pelargoniums, citrus fruits, olive trees, and any tender exotics indoors before the first frost bites.
Flowerbeds and Pots
• Plant winter bedding a such as pansies and violas in the container where they are going to spend the winter, and then place the container in the greenhouse or in a sheltered spot to give the plants a bit of time to get established. This introduces the plants to the real outside weather – as you would summer bedding and should encourage them to flower throughout the Winter.
• Cut Everlasting sweetpeas down to the ground.
• Divide up herbaceous perennials and move plants around. They become congested with age so dig up the clump, divide it and replant the best sections.
• Continue planting Spring bulbs, but wait until the end of October or November to plant any Tulips.
• With deadheading and feeding, Dahlias will often flower into October, or until the first frosts. Once frost has hit, cut down the blackened foliage and lift and store the tubers somewhere cool and dry over winter.
Fruit and Vegetables
• Tomatoes are slowing down in the greenhouse now so it may be time to cut them from the vines to ripen indoors on a sunny windowsill or in a warm cupboard.
• Main crop Carrots can be lifted if needed, or left where they can remain all winter. If your vegetable plot is wet with heavy soils the carrots may rot, you may need to lift them and store. After digging up, cut off the top foliage and store in cool dark dry place, such as a garage and check regularly for bad carrots.
• If sowing late lettuce and rocket in the vegetable plot, it may need protection, such as a cloche to ensure it germinates.
• Lettuce and Rocket are quite hardy and will continue growing well into late autumn and early winter.
Alpington and Yelverton 