LET’S GET DOWN TO BUSY-NESS
Acers set their feathery leaves alight and Amelanchiers stoke up coppery orange and lemon yellow shades in their branches. In the shrub border, Spiraeas are equally impressive with their flame-coloured foliage and eventually Cotinus turns a vivid red wine colour.
Rockeries are full of translucency as opaque pink Cyclamen flowers sit above their silvery marbled leaves and delicate autumn crocus stand to attention on still dewy mornings. Montbretias renowned for their August blooms now display their muted-orange seed-heads and their grassy leaves turn increasingly straw-coloured.
If you can tear yourself away from it all, this is also an extremely busy month for preparation, planning, lawn care, pruning, planting containers, harvesting and tidying up. It doesn’t all have to be done at once, but many jobs will grab your attention.
The best things in life are tree
TREES are extremely valuable in a garden, giving you cool dappled shade in the summer and helping to break up damaging winter winds.
They also help to purify the air and attract a whole range of wildlife. Some species will, of course, provide stunning autumn colours - here are a few suggestions......
Malus ‘Veitch’s Scarlet’ has masses of wonderful crimson crab apples right up until the end of the year.
Sorbus Cashmiriana is well known for clusters of orangey red berries and yellow foliage.
Acer Dissectum is very versatile as it will bring its fiery feathery foliage to the garden or containers and even in traditional Japanese bonsai form.
Amelanchier Lamarkii is truly spectacular in any garden where its small leaves glow orange, red and pink with occasional yellow.
• Now is the time to start sorting out herbaceous borders by lifting and dividing congested clumps and replanting into appropriate positions. It’s also a good time to throw out anything you don’t want.
• While the weather is still reasonably warm, move evergreens into new positions. Brightly coloured foliage plants, such as Euonymus and Leucothoes can be used in the winter corner close to the house.
• Continue to cut the grass regularl on a high setting, and apply a general autumn lawn fertiliser in damp spells.
• Ripen green tomatoes by placing them in a drawer with a ripe banana.
• Give French Lavenders a light shearing over to keep them bushy but do not cut into old wood.
Colchi Colchi coo
COLCHICUMS (Autumn Crocus) suddenly display their delicate pink and lilac cups in rockeries early this month. The low-angled rays of sunlight shine right through the transluscent petals which sparkle in the morning dew. These flowers appear on their own with the leaves to follow in spring.. Superb in a rockery, these bulbs originate from sunny Medittereanean hillsides where they flower even later in autumn there.
Get back to the drawing bord-er
IF YOU have an average sized border of 100 sq ft (eg 25ft x 4ft or 10ft by 10ft) that you are unsure what to do with, why not create a beautiful spring border jam-packed with biennials, bedding plants and bulbs?
Much as a herbaceous border is created, the taller plants are situated at the back with an occasional group coming forwards and the medium and small plants positioned in groups appropriately towards the front of the border. Taking into account the 100 sq ft border, here is a suggested list of approximate quantities of each varieties and their heights, along with planting distances and bulb-planting depths:
Imperial Crown Frittilarias (x15) grow to around 4ft tall and can be planted at the back of a border in groups of three. These stately plants produce large umbels of bloom in April.
Large Tulips (x50) grow to around 2-2.5ft tall and can be planted in groups of tens near the back of the border. Try a few ‘Queen of Night’ for some depth and drama.
Tall (standard) Narcissi (x100) can be planted in clusters of around a dozen - eight groups are recommended, staggered around in the middle to rear part of the border is perfect.
Standard Wallflowers (x100) will make an impact in the middle part of the border with their sheer brilliance and heady late-spring scent. They can be grouped in tens.
Forget-Me-Nots (x30) look simply superb in front of Wallflowers with their pale blue frothiness and can be planted five-per-group. Though, in future years, they will soon arrange themselves profusely.
Mini Narcissi (x50) look great with Forget-Me-Nots and can be grouped in eights.
Rockery Tulips (x50) can be grouped in tens and flower earlier than their taller sisters.
Hyacinths (x35) are expensive but well worth planting for their large blooms which are beautifully scented and can be planted in fives at the front of the border.
Sweet Williams {x30} are also scented, and offer masses of bloom for the front of the border. Plant in clusters of five between the Forget-Me-Nots.
Muscari (x100) looks good planted in groups of 20 at the front where their miniature blue grapes shine in the strong April sun.
Before planting or planning, measure your border and if it is more or less than 100 sq ft, adjust the ratios accordingly.
You’ll never get Cyc of these beauties
CYCLAMEN really do provide an autumn glow to the front of partially shaded borders, rockeries and patio tubs. Their swept back petals introduce a fresh feel to a garden that is generally waning.
They thrive well in a sheltered position in a nice cool moist and humus rich soil and will often flower until the first severe frost, in many cases around Christmas or new year.
They normally die down in late spring but still like to be kept moist during the summer.
When a wind is lost, expect a frost
MUCH of the first three weeks of October is likely to be unsettled with some strong winds, though short, warm, dry spells are expected.
After around the 20th, it looks like turning quieter and often sunny but with the first few night time frosts possible.
Rock-ing our way into November
NOVEMBER brings rich foliage of ornamental shrubs. Indoors, colourful pot plants come into their own. We will be discovering how to plant new hedges, including some of our native species and turning our attention to rockeries for unusual plants and novel ideas, such as colourful chippings, stone mulches and mini-rockeries in containers.
See you next month!
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