SALES AND SERVICE M&A Brown & Sons Ltd, Iden Green Farm, Cranbrook Road, Goudhurst, Kent TN17 2PA info@mabg.co.uk 01580 211599 www.mabg.co.uk Traditional Craftsmanship for Modern Applications MABrownSonsLtdWT218.indd 1 25/02/<strong>2020</strong> 15:44 Garages, Outbuildings and Garden Rooms Quality Buildings at Competitive Prices chartwelloakbuildings.co.uk Call for a quote 01959 447477 Filston Farm, Filston Lane, Sevenoaks, Kent TN14 5JU priceless-magazines.com 108 PetalsForPlantsWT223.indd 1 09/09/<strong>2020</strong> ChartwellOakBuildingsWT214.indd 13:04 1 06/11/2019 11:06
Forever Autumn Jo Arnell’s tips to keep your garden blooming all year round I’m humming along with a wistful (and if I’m honest, slightly depressing) tune as I type this. I do know that the summer sun is fading as the year grows old, and darker days are drawing near. But hey, Mr Haywood, cheer up – autumn is a beautiful and golden season. It’s my favourite. And the sun isn’t really fading, it’s just that as the earth tilts on its axis the sun appears lower in the sky – and that makes for gorgeous backlit effects through the grasses and lateflowering perennials. Darker days are drawing near, true, but that should spur us to seize the moment and squeeze the most out of the shortening days. Autumn is such a busy time for gardeners; a time to take stock, to look back at the year, to see what worked – and what didn’t. A time to make, prepare for and implement plans and the very best time to be planting all but the most tender, easily frosted plants. The one thing that we don’t do so much any more is put the garden ‘to bed’. These days autumns are milder; the cold weather often doesn’t arrive until the end of December; plants stay looking good for longer and some will even keep flowering until then, if we don’t get an early frost. Wildlife Planting shrubs and trees that produce fruit, nuts or berries will attract insects, birds and small mammals into the garden at this time of the year. A tree is an ecosystem in its own right and there are plenty of small trees that are both pretty and useful to wildlife. A mountain ash or rowan will have blossom, berries and autumn colour, as will crabapple, cherry and Amelanchier. Bug hotels, log piles, hollow stems, fallen leaves and compost heaps make snug homes for creatures to burrow into and eke out the winter months. We garden more for wildlife now and the creatures don’t appreciate it when we sweep away their overwintering places. Untidy gardens have now been renamed wildlife havens – a big relief to this untidy gardener. Annuals and biennials Many annuals will go on flowering into winter if the weather’s mild, so do keep deadheading if you want to extend the display. I’m usually happy for the seed to set by this time, as this ensures some new plants for next year. If the weather’s dry it can be very satisfying collecting the seeds of annuals to sow again. Hardy annuals can be sown now, either straight into the garden where they are going to flower, or into small pots and kept in a sheltered place until they’re ready to be planted out next spring. Many seeds will store until spring, but remember to keep them in a cool dry place. Any biennials sown earlier in the year can be planted out now into their flowering positions. Perennials and grasses The late summer flowers will extend right into November providing there aren’t any early frosts and the weather stays calm. You may be tidier than me – I like to let everything gently subside before clearing up – it’s like the end of a glorious party when everyone starts drifting home. Seed heads can look as lovely as the flowers, are great in arrangements and rather poetic when left to be dusted with frost or snow in the winter. Grasses are at their very best now and will persist through the winter, bringing an airy, ethereal presence in the borders until the spring. They mix well with late summer flowers and I often use the bigger varieties, like Miscanthus, Molinia and Calamagrostis in place of shrubs to lighten up a space. Grasses are fairly easy to maintain – cut back the growth on deciduous varieties in early spring. Evergreens will shed old foliage, so should just need a comb through before growth starts again. Dahlias will keep going if deadheaded, but they are tender and once the temperatures begin to fall, they’ll show the effects. The slightest frost will kill the top growth, as if a bad fairy has visited them in the night. Then comes the dilemma of whether to lift the tubers. I don’t lift as my soil is light and free-draining, but it might be a different matter if your soil is heavy clay – this tends to be wet over the winter and not appreciated by a tender bulb or dahlia tuber. If you are leaving them in the ground, cut the foliage back once we’ve had the first frost and then put a good layer of mulch over the space (and maybe a stick or label incase you don’t remember where they are buried). Most of my Dahlias come back the following year, but I have to keep a vigilant eye out for slugs and snails in the spring as the new foliage appears. Bulbs Planting bulbs is an act of faith; spring will return – and with it a spectacular reward for your hard work and patience. Start with the early flowering bulbs like crocus, narcissus and anemones, then plant alliums and leave the tulips until last. You can leave tulips as late 109 priceless-magazines.com
Change language