Jobs / Tips
Tidy the garden. This
helps to reduce the amount of hiding places and food that slugs and snails in particular
will have to tide them over the winter, which is good news for you next year.
If your plants have been affected by disease or
pest, pay particular attention to tidy-up hygiene so as not to give them
(the diseases and pests) a head start
next year. Diseased leaves should be burnt or taken out of the garden and disposed
of, likewise fruit that is damaged by apple scab, plum sawfly or anything similar.
Just time to
prune any plum trees you have as soon as possible. The problem with plums
(and all the Prunus) is that you're supposed to prune them in the summer, any
other time means they're at risk from developing "silver leaf" a fungal
infection that can easily kill the whole tree.
Scour the retail outlets for summer plant bargains.
The end of the year is the best time for new plantings,
the soil is still warm and there's time for plants to get established before the
winter.
Sow hardy annuals for early flowering next spring.
Calendulas, Larkspur, Nigella (love in a mist) Shirley
poppies and my favourite blue cornflowers all do well if sown in rows in a sheltered
position.
Plant spring flowering bulbs for next year.
Spring flowering
bulbs and shrubs Plant hyacinths in tall containers for the best results indoors
(not shallow bowls, the more the roots reach down, the more the flowers reach up
so it seems). Lily flowered tulips are extravagant, but fantastic and only very
rarely found as potted bulbs.
Detach strawberry runners and plant them out in
well dug over and manured soil.
A good time to make a new lawn using seed or turf.
The cooler but still
reasonable temperatures and more reliable rainfall at this time of year mean that
it is one of the best times to do this.
If you have any half hardy plants such as fuchsias
or Pelargoniums watch out for cold weather and frosts that may kill them off.
In
the 19th Century, Devon girls would go "crabbing for husbands". Crab apples,
gathered on 29th September (Michaelmas Day) would be arranged in the shape of the
prospective lover’s initials. Those best preserved on Old Michaelmas Day (10th October),
were thought to indicate the best prospects.
A good time to take cuttings of shrubs, preferably with some protection.
Plants
for September