Who switched the lights off? The turning of the seasons marked by the changing clock is always dramatic. It is amazing how just one hour brings about such change. Gardening opportunities have to be snatched at and with autumn now in full swing, there is much to do. The real priority being to get the house in order. Shrubs, roses and trees will all benefit from a light clipping, especially these that are new plantings, were boisterous weather will rock them disrupting root settlement. Herbaceous plants can be cut back with debris being removed for composting and keep on top of the leaves too, which are coming in cascades. Just keep the place tidy and remove hiding places for rodents and pests looking to lockdown for the winter. Extend the cleaning to indoor spaces too and if you have produce in store protect that if you want to keep it. Quality check as well, potatoes and apples will all need to be visited to remove rubbish. This year hasn’t been bad for fruit, and this is a good time to pave the way for clean crops next year, slapping on a bit of grease or a grease band around the stems of fruit to confound pests seeking winter refuge.
If you have it in mind to do some planting then new trees and shrubs can be introduced this month and bare root hedging will become available soon. If you are planning a hedge, then bare root plants are cheap and reliable. If you find some just get them planted quickly, they will dry out if out of the ground for too long. There is still time to complete the planting of winter bedding this month and bulbs can also go in. I always think November is a good month for tulips, there are a tough bulb and we don’t look for them to perform until April so they have plenty of time to root.
And finally, make sure that any pigeon protection netting is well anchored.The days will get rougher and it can be soul destroying to see protected crops wiped out in a matter of hours.

Happy Gardening

Chris Evans
www.dundrynurseries.co.uk
www.thebutterflygarden.org

The Staverton and Boddington Harvest Supper. A delightful evening, which once again saw our community coming together at Boddington Manor. The food was good,the quiz testing and the company lively. A huge thank you to all who worked to bring the event together and to all who attended and enabled us to record a profit of £536.00. It was lovely to have Father Joe with us too. And everyone was pleased that he found a space in his busy new schedule.