Archive
The October Garden | October News
The October Garden
October can be the month when we are still enjoying the mellow autumn days of an Indian summer - however it can also be the onset of winter storms, hard frosts and even on occasion the first snow!! There is probably still some colour left in the herbaceous border, mainly Phlox, Rudbeckias, Astilbes and late flowering Aconitums.
However every so often it is good policy to clear part or the whole of a border completely (the text books recommend every 3 - 4 years)!! Over time what usually happens is that vigorous plants take over and crowd out the less dominant ones. It also allows one to eliminate any established invasive weeds and add some much needed organic matter. In any case a clump forming plant will require dividing regularly to generate new growth - the central part will be less vigorous and should be discarded, replant only the outer sections.
It is certainly a major undertaking and requires planning, a strong back and preferably a good dry day!! Do some warm up exercises before starting and even better get help if at all possible - some of the established plants can easily be a square metre in area and very heavy once prized out of the ground.
With a newly dug over border and plenty of organic matter incorporated it is an ideal opportunity to design a new plant layout. Vary the plant heights and form as well as introducing different colour schemes. Try and ensure that there will be a succession of colour and interest throughout the year. Plants put into the border in early October will still establish readily as the soil temperatures are still reasonably good. Think about putting in tulips and alliums to give spring colour.
Plants in the greenhouse are now coming to the end of their flowering and this is the opportunity to remove all the dead flowers and cut back any long straggly stems (apply a dusting of sulphur powder to the newly cut surface to discourage rot and disease). Heating the greenhouse throughout the winter is expensive and a cheaper alternative is to move the most valuable plants into a cool room in the house, reducing the watering accordingly. This will then allow for a general clean up and disinfection to kill off bugs and disease.
October News
Village Show Results
Sorry for the late announcement of the Village Show results but they are now available on the Village Show page. You can now proudly see what prizes you won and who won the major trophies. Perhaps it will encourage you to enter next year or even plant your bulbs ready for the Spring Show which is on 15th April 2009. The schedule for this is also on the Village Show page.