We use cookies on this website. To use the website as intended please accept cookies.

Friday March 29 , 2024

Blue Daisy Blog

Blue Daisy blog written by Nicki Jackson & Jules Clark - for news, views, garden design, gardening and plant observations and thoughts.

October Garden Advice

Posted by on in Gardening
  • Font size: Larger Smaller
  • Hits: 19269
  • 0 Comments
  • Subscribe to this entry
  • Print

autumn leavesOctober brings with it a drop in temperatures, night frosts and an increase of winds blowing the rich autumn-coloured leaves from trees.  This month the growing season comes to a close but there are still plenty of jobs to be done in and around the garden.  

Don’t worry about clearing every seed head or dying herb stems before winter sets in unless you want your garden to be super tidy, seed heads with frost or moisture from a misty start to the day can be very aesthetically pleasing as well as providing beneficial insects such as ladybirds and lacewings shelter to hibernate.  Leaving spent seed heads and stems also gives some plants an added layer of protection through the cold and frosty months.

 

If you have established perennials that have been untouched for a number of years it’s a good idea to divide them now as they become dormant, it will give them new vigour and they’ll put on a better show for you next year.  Geraniums and Japanese anemones are ideal to divide now, dig them up carefully and use two forks back to back to lever apart, do this a few times and then replant all the smaller plants not forgetting well-rotted compost or manure to help them along.

Sedums (Hylotelephium) are great for dividing now – simply cut all the growth off, dig them up and then using your spade divide the root into sections and replant.  Remember to give them a good watering too!   Destroy all leaves off your Hosta plants as they very quickly turn mushy and diseased, if you don’t destroy them the spores will over-winter in your garden.   Don’t put them in your compost either; destroy them it’s the best way!

Leaves very soon will be everywhere so make the most of them, rake them up and store them either in a chicken wire container held in place using four stakes in the ground or in black bin bags.  If you opt for bin bags make sure that the leaves are damp and that you punch your garden fork into the bag a few times to create air holes.  Store them in a hidden corner in your garden and after a year the leaves will make a fantastic soil conditioner or mulch and after two years they make potting compost or top dressing for lawns after being sieved – all for free!

 

0

Nicki Jackson is Blue Daisy's garden designer & owner. A former HR consultant Nicki still finds the time to run Blue Daisy, design gardens and planting plans, write a blog, keep our gardening clients happy and offer IIP advice and outplacement support through Blue Daisy Consultancy.

Author's recent posts

Comments

  • No comments made yet. Be the first to submit a comment

Leave your comment

Guest Friday, 29 March 2024

Blog Categories

Tag Cloud

summer garden Horticulturalist RHS Tatton Park February garden roof gardens Selfridges Roof Garden Chelsea Flower Show scented shrubs Acuba traditional style cyclamen Sophie Raworth vertical garden pollinators Mrs Loudon September garden NSALG November garden Capability Brown Hidcote Greenhouse herbs autumn garden Floating Paradise Gardens of London HTA birch Herb garden Achillea grey water August garden Coastal plants garden colour in your garden Ilex Crocus unity bees Cosmos astrosanguineus London Stone Lane Gardens Garden Planning Herb Perennial garden advice at home Nicki Jackson edible garden show Jekka McVicar Joanna Lumley eco-friendly October garden Spring shrubs hydroponic Narcissus grow your own Glasshouse Buxus Seed sowing house plants sorbus cottage gardens Lawrence Johnston kerb-side appeal sweat peas Kelmarsh Hall front garden poppies Briza maxima watering can reclaimed materials surfaces Phyllostachys nigra water basil repetition Malvern Hills Alys Fowler Cloches garden design Ashwood Nurseries rosemary legacy gift CorTen Highgrove hard landscaping RHS Chelsea plant pots Absorb pollution RHS Urban Heat Island National Gardening Week BBC gardening on tv Stoneleigh herbaceous borders pests gravel spring garden spring bulbs Horticulture winner Chelsea Physic Garden roof garden Gardeners World Birmingham Library John Massey contemporary Urban Heat Island Effect RHS Malvern June garden Chris Beardshaw December garden Horticultural build Berginia Malvern Spring Show bulb display elm recycled materials wildlife Futurescape Joseph Banks Charlie Dimmock timber kitchen garden drought Lantra career in horticulture Kensington Roof Garden CorTen steel hosepipe lawn care rainwater harvesting sunflowers Tom Hart-Dyke Alan Titchmarsh snow Carol Klein composting James Wong Cambridge botanical garden Hosta bulbs planning your garden green spaces show gardens garden room Laurel pond Blue Daisy form rock gardens Berberis March garden women and work award Rachel de Thame saving water National Trust Fleece New York Highline Taxus garden design trends ornamental grasses acer cottage garden Snowdrops May garden Decking water feature Winter shrubs heatwave RHS Hampton Court doddington hall Shrubs winter garden rococo Echinacea Prince Harry movement in the garden blue paving topiary January garden structure twitter sound in the garden water conservation watering Euphorbia Toby Buckland Trees water butt courtyard Daffodils February Kew Gardens ha ha deer Cut flowers GYO HNC Joe Swift Wildflowers garden focal points terracota wild flowers Bamboo July garden Matt James plants Events & Shows ash Levens Hall alpines April garden Monty Don pollinating insects garden design tip patio productive garden Great British Garden Revival stonemarket Moss Bank Park Wisley Geranium

Welcome to Blue Daisy Blog



Our Promise

promiseWe work hard to keep our customers happy.  We work to a voluntary customer charter.

Peace of Mind

simplybusinessWe take our responsibilities seriously so we're insured through Simply Business.

Click on the logo for our Garden Design insurance details. For Gardening details see our gardening services page.

Proud Members Of...

landscapejuicen... The Landscape Juice Network where we interact with other professional gardeners, designers and landscapers.