Autumn begins: "Ahhh this warm ripening season I love, long shadows, low sun in Cornflower blue sky's above". ( At this mellow time of the year the poet in me emerges!!) I am still cut, cut cutting back plants that looked stunning through summer but are now just tied and straggly like bush lavatera, mignonette, lavender tops, geraniums, they will all leaf up again to go through the winter. I am still seed collecting, there are so many ready now, I plant a few now but save most to sow in spring. What I am planting now are lupin, Iceland poppy, pansy, pollyantha, primula, aquilegia (Grannies bonnet) and ageratum ( snapdragon) wall flower, stock, Virginia stock and sweet-pea. if these sunny days keep up they should all be up and ready for me to prick out and and plant into containers where they will continue to grow and harden off a little before the danger of hard frost. If some of these seedlings grow big enough to reach bud stage I will plant into the garden but most will need to be carried over until the ground warms up again in spring.( Sweet pea seeds should to be planted straight into the garden now, they will pop up and hold over the winter then as soon as the ground starts to warm in August they will take off and flower early ) This week the hedge trimmer has been out again because with the favorable conditions we have experienced this growing season.some shrubs in our garden have out grown their space.
Autumn is said to be the best time to plant conifers, http://www.conifers.co.nz/ there are such a lot of different types on offer now and I consider these contribute to the bones of the garden. Tall narrow conifers planted in groups give larger gardens a vertical push and formality. Read labels carefully they will give you the height and width for the first ten years, after that they do keep growing and can be removed if they start to look untidy but most ornamental conifers look wonderful for years and years.
Compost:This is an excellent time to start building a new compost heap and get it heating up before winter.http://freshorganicgardening.com/learn-to-build-a-compost-pile/
Lawns. This is said to be the best time to sow a new lawn,because perennial weeds have slowed down, the ground is nice and warm as are the nights and if the moisture is kept up grass seed will be up in no time. I have been spot spraying the flat weeds in my lawns and when we get rain again I will apply grass grub granules, as this is the time to do this.
Vegetables: What a great year for produce it is with so much ready to use, parsnips, beetroot, carrots, potatoes, corn and pumpkins scrambling all over the place. Keep planting in rotation, leaf veg where root veg has been,
It is a good time to sow Root plants like Asparagus , Beetroot , Carrots , Chives , Leeks ,Onions , Parsnips , Shallots , Spring Onions. When potatoes are dug they need to be kept in the dark or they will go green. I take what I need from a dig and leave the rest in the ground until needed. When the time comes for you to store them there are products which will inhibit sprouting, but many gardeners avoid chemicals near food so I will once again mention a natural alternative with you. Layer the stored potatoes with dried sprigs of rosemary, sage and lavender, the essential oils given off by these herbs not only inhibit sprouting, they will also help to keep the tubers free from bacterial soft rots.
Fruit: Apples, quince, plums, walnuts and late peaches so much at once! the birds must be overjoyed by their feasting and the rats / mice will be waiting patiently for the nuts and sun flower seeds to ripen, such abundance! Cover grapes from those waiting birds.
Cheers, Linda
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