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Home > Home & Garden > Articles > Autumn s just about here. Is it time to stop enjoying the garden and get back to work

Autumn s just about here. Is it time to stop enjoying the garden and get back to work

00:00 Tue 11th Sep 2001 | Home & Garden

A.� Not at all. Even if we don't get one of those longed for Indian summers there is still plenty to enjoy on the good days.

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If you've been regularly picking your sweet peas they should be around for a while yet, late planted gladioli will be just coming into there own in some places climbers like Solanum and Passion flower aren't finished yet and Dahlias, early Chrysanthemums and Michaelmas Daisies will provide plenty of colour for weeks to come.

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That's not to say, of course, there's noting practical to be done. There always is.

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Q.� My lawn's looking a bit sorry for itself after lots of summer wear and tear. What can I do about it

A.� September is the prime month for either patching up the old lawn or sewing a completely new one. If you're sewing a new one make sure you prepare the ground properly (see Laying Lawns in the Home and Garden archive), choose the seed you want and sew away. Doing this now gives the grass, which will require a couple of high cuts before winter truly arrives, the chance to get established in plenty of time.

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If repairs are needed, give bald patches a good forking over to relieve compaction and either patch with new turf or put down seed. It may well be worth covering newly seeded areas to stop the birds feasting on all your hard work.

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Finally, rake up fallen leaves at regular intervals and put them on the compost heap rather than leaving them in a damp pile that will damage the grass underneath.

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Q.� What should I do with the border plants that are looking tired and over

A.� There's no need to wait until perennials have lost every leaf. Cut back flower stalks to a few inches, just high enough so that you know where they are, and lift and divide congested clumps now so that they have a chance to establish new roots while the ground is still relatively warm.

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Rock plants that are over should be trimmed back to a neat framework to encourage good growth next spring and climbers that have finished can be cut back and this year's growth fastened back where necessary. And keep weeding. Anything you get rid of now can't come back to trouble you next year.

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Q.� What about planting at this time of year

A.� Bulb catalogues will started landing on doormats all over the country and it is time to start planning what winter and spring bulbs you want now in order to get them into the ground before by the end of the month.

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This is the perfect time to plant out evergreens and heathers to give them a chance to root in before the weather turns. Garden centres and nurseries should be stocking up from now on.

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Q.� And what about the vegetable garden

A.� Keeping picking the last of your crops before the threat of frost and always keep the hoe handy. Late potatoes should be lifted when the haulms have decayed and it will soon be time to start closing the greenhouse at night, remembering to open up again during sunny days.

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If you've got a question about your home or garden, click here.

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By Tom Gard

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