As we can see autumn is well and truly here, showing off all its amazing and vibrant colours, bringing a visual warmth to your garden. It’s a time of year to tidy, maintain and plan ahead for spring displays.

Autumn Preparation – With autumn well on its way, now is the perfect opportunity to not only prepare your garden for the cold weather, but get it ready for spring.

• If you haven’t already, plant Erysimums (Wallflowers), Myosotis (Forget-me-nots) and other spring bedding now in preparation for next season. You also still have time to plant an autumn container, giving your garden an extra boost of colour. Heucheras and Asters are the perfect autumn plants.
• Clearing up fallen leaves can seem like a never-ending task but the effort is well worth it. Put a few in the compost bin and collect the rest to make leaf mould.
• It’s your last chance to move half hardy and tender plants into the greenhouse to save them from early frost.

Edible Gardens – Autumn is a great time to plant strawberries. They prefer a sunny and sheltered position in fertile, free-draining soil. Ensure the crowns are slightly above the soil and give them a good water if its dry out. Strawberries and cream is only a summer away!

From your Armchair – Autumn gardening is different to summer gardening as there is a lot more cutting back and obviously, the raking of the huge amounts of leaves that will fall over the next few weeks.

Why not take a bit of time to look back at this years garden and make a few notes or sketches for next spring – a digital camera has become the modern gardeners best friend – taking photos of where herbaceous plants are located before they die back so you don’t damage their roots during a winter dig, capturing images of borders you’d like to replicate at home or simply just a memory jog so you remember which areas of the garden look like they need improving.

By keeping a photo diary of your garden, you can reflect on what grew well, what failed miserably, and what you plan to change next year. If you would like to add some additional colour and interest to the front or rear of your property, please call the office on 01782 369 168 to enquire about our beautiful planting schemes.