A slightly more interesting month and we did eventually see some rain too. It was a strange pattern and most days I found myself putting on extra clothing, then needing to strip off only to find half an hour later, I was scurrying around to find a raincoat. I found the rapid shortening of daylight quite sad. The sun had deceived me I think and suddenly autumn was upon us, with darkness sweeping in by eight. Still, another few weeks and we can turn the clocks back. The rougher weather did knock the gardens too and many things just surrendered; we were able to tease a last handful of beans last week.

So, the month ahead looks set to be one of repairing and tidying as well as restoring and replanting. Garden centres are full of autumn bedding with good stocks of pansies, violas and the like and of course there are plenty of bulbs.

On the vegetable front you can planting autumn onion sets for over-wintering, as well as garlic bulbs. Probably the most exciting thing to get on your radar is that the end of the month you can be planting Aquadulce Broad Beans for the spring. If you like broad beans, then don’t miss this one, early beans are a treat. Overwintered plants don’t tend to suffer with blackfly. Some winter veg plants are still around, and perpetual spinach is certainly worth the space.

If you are intending to leave ground empty, then have a go with green manuring. You just broadcast seed on to the ground and then dig in the plants in the spring to improve soil fertility. It’s cheap, it’s fun and it is worth the trouble. These crops are more interesting than bare ground too.

I have mentioned the repairs and probably could have focussed entirely on them, three hundred words could have posted on the lawn. It is getting a bit late for sowing, but for a week or two you can still put down a dusting of grass seed to fill out patches. Just scratch the ground with a rake and sprinkle it on. Germination will depend now on the kindness of the weather and major repairs are best left until spring.

And finally, one of the highlights of a very hot year, has been to witness the glorious success of our Blueberry which has been prolific. I am about to plant another.

Happy Gardening.

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