October – a time for garden renewal

Although the nights are now drawing in and daylight hours are shortening, I treat any warm and sunny days in October as a real bonus, as it is ideal gardening weather! After the drought came the rains which have made the soil more workable; this makes replacing distressed shrubs and perennials so much easier. If your garden is heavy clay you may find this is the easiest time of year to “work” it, dig it over, make any changes and/or replant.

Lawns have revived quickly and beautifully in the last few weeks. For any patches that remain, rough up the soil, spread some fine topsoil or lawn dressing around the area, sprinkle on grass seed and gently rake in. Hey presto – that’s all you need to do to revive the dead areas.

Think ahead now to the spring, especially in relation to planting bulbs. Whether they are for pots or for the open ground, plant them soon and you will be rewarded next year with plenty of colour. The largest array of colour and size is from tulips, ranging from 20cm to 60cm and beyond. For unusual varieties, check out the feathered petals of the striking Estella Rijnveld, the (almost) black Paul Scherer, and flamey Orange Marmalade. When planting up winter hanging baskets or pots, start with a layer of dwarf tete-a-tete narcissi which will shoot through and bring cheerful colour when some of the other plants are waning.

Acers should now be showing off their best autumn fiery foliage, as will many trees such as (my favourite) Liquidamber. Many parks and gardens will have a good display, but Winkworth Arboretum near Godalming and Sheffield Park near Uckfield have particularly memorable autumn vistas.

David Hogg

Buckland Nurseries