As summer ends, and with autumn upon us, the days (and chance to be out in your green space) get shorter. Autumn is a busy transition season - tidying up from summer, adding nutrition back into the soil, protecting plants for winter, and thinking ahead to next year! If you’ve been out on the allotment or growing your own you’ll hopefully still be enjoying ripe harvests from your fruit and veg patch too. Here’s what to focus on this season:
Early Autumn - September
A true transition month in the garden and the chance to harvest, tidy and start preparing for colder weather.
• Pick late fruit and veg – tomatoes, apples, pears, plums, squashes, courgettes and beans.
• Collect and sow hardy annual flower seeds.
• Deadhead roses and late-summer flowers to extend flowering.
• Take cuttings from tender plants (such as fuchsias, pelargoniums or salvias).
• Plant spring bulbs like daffodils, crocus, hyacinths (wait until October/November for tulips).
• Start lifting and dividing perennials.
• Aerate and scarify lawns; re-seed and feed any bare patches or re-turf if necessary.
• Reduce watering/feeding containers as growth slows.
Mid Autumn - October
Now come the peak autumn jobs - planting, clearing and protecting for frosts.
• Harvest remaining pumpkins, squashes and late apples/pears.
• Plant garlic, onion sets and broad beans for overwintering.
• Lift tender bulbs/tubers (dahlias, gladioli, cannas, begonias) to store.
• Clear veg crops and dig a quality compost or mulch into empty beds.
• Plant new trees, shrubs and hedges.
• Continue planting spring bulbs; tulips can be planted late October.
• Prune climbing and rambling roses once flowering is finished.
• Collect fallen leaves for compost or leaf mould.
• Cover any ponds with netting to stop fallen leaves getting in. This will save a lot of time, especially if your pond is below any trees. It’s also sensible to remove any weeds and algae from your pond.
Late Autumn - November
Now’s the last chance to protect and plant before winter sets in!
• Finish planting tulips and all remaining spring bulbs.
• Move tender plants (such as pelargoniums, citrus trees or fuchsias) indoors or to a greenhouse.
• Wrap tree ferns, palms and other half-hardy plants with fleece or straw.
• Prune fruit trees including apples and pears whilst they are dormant, but avoid stone fruit such as plums and cherries.
• Mulch borders with compost or bark for winter protection.
• Plant bare-root roses, fruit bushes and hedging plants.
• Insulate outdoor containers with fleece or bubble wrap to protect roots.
• Set up bird feeders and clean nesting boxes.
• Tidy the greenhouse: wash the glass, check heaters and remove dead plant material.
By the end of November, your garden should be ready for winter – nourished and ready to spring into life next year.
