October is the Time For.. Planning for Spring Colour

While the start of the colder weather gives the impression that the garden is shutting up shop for winter, this is the right time for planting spring bulbs.

I love the autumn, the time to plan for the year ahead. It’s good to think that as the leaves turn and fall and the garden prepares for frost and snow you’ve made firm investments to ensure your garden bursts back to life when the weather warms up. Planting now in October, before the weather gets too cold, makes good gardening sense too as the soil is still holding some of the summer’s heat and will really help the bulbs get rooted in the soil and, quite literally, put some roots down!

Getting Nifty with the Rake

If you’ve spent the summer cultivating the perfect lawn then it’s important you get the rake out and gather up any fallen leaves to make certain they don’t rot on your springy grass. I like to leave fallen leaves in other parts of the garden though – where they can’t do any harm, just because it’s such a seasonal treat to see piles of golden leaves. Keeping your paths and patio clear however is a good idea as wet, rotting leaves are extremely slippery. Another note on lawns – after the final cut of the season, now is also a good time to give the lawn a good autumn feed, particularly if your lawn has seen out more than its fair share of impromptu football matches, barbecues and the odd tent or two during the summer months!

Pottering

October is a good time for bringing any houseplants indoors that have enjoyed some freedom outside during the summer months, especially before the first frosts hit. Clean out any nest boxes that you’ve installed in the garden and start thinking of good places for bird feeders or a bird table; our feathered friends don’t need much help at the moment where food is concerned as there’s a veritable smorgasbord all around us but they will in the winter time. Prune shrubs now and get weeding and mulching too.

If you’d like to discuss garden plans for next year or you’d like some advice on replanting a lawn then feel free to get in touch.

Five Reasons to Build Fences and Walls Inside Your Garden

Walls and fences are most commonly used to define and protect the boundaries of a garden, but they are also useful and decorative in many other situations. Here are just five reasons why you might want to include them in your garden design. Once you start thinking about it, you will probably find a lot more!

Privacy
If your favourite sunbathing spot is overlooked by a neighbouring building, or the back garden is easily visible from the front of the house, a fence or wall can be used as a screen against prying eyes. Its position is more important than its size so check your plans from all angles.

Shelter
Sunshine is wonderful, but if your patio is sometimes too hot for comfort create a patch of dappled shade by adding some decorative fencing panels. They will block the glare while still allowing a cooling breeze to waft through.

If your garden is exposed to strong winds you might consider putting up walls or fences to protect tender plants. Solid barriers can make the problem worse as the air deflected on one side causes turbulence on the other. The aim of an effective windbreak is only to slow the airflow so choose a fence or wall with plenty of gaps in it.

Dividing garden rooms
Use walls or fences to separate the vegetable plot from the lawn, or children’s play areas from your flower garden. They can be incorporated into the design of each ‘room’. For example, a low stone wall marking the edge of an ornamental garden can incorporate planters for flowers; a simple picket fence around a play area could be painted in bright colours.

Shape-changing
Steeply sloping land that is difficult to cultivate can be shaped into more manageable terraces with the help of retaining walls. It can be a big job but the transformation is usually worth the effort. The same idea can be used to add height and interest to a flat garden. A series of natural stone or brick walls can be backfilled with soil to gradually raise the ground level.

Design feature
For best results, incorporate internal fences and walls into the overall design of your garden. You don’t have to restrict yourself to rectangular brick walls or brown wooden fences. They can be made in all shapes and sizes and from a wide range of materials to suit any style of garden. They can be curved, angular, undulating, and in any colour you can imagine. Use them to harmonize with their surroundings – or to act as a contrast.

A well-built stone wall is a work of art in itself. Instead of hiding it behind plants you could even make it the main feature!

If you have some ideas for using walls and fences to enhance your garden but are not sure which materials to use, or you want advice on the best way to tackle the job, contact a professional landscape gardener who will be happy to visit and explain all the options in a free, no obligation consultation.

How to Make the Most of Your Winter Armchair Gardening

The cold, dark days of winter force even the keenest gardeners to retreat indoors, but there are still lots of gardening jobs to be done from the comfort of your fireside. Here are some of them:

Planning
Now is the time to look through seed and plant catalogues and decide what you want to grow next year. The old favourites? Exciting new hybrids? Most people choose some of each. Don’t be seduced by the beautiful photos of perfect specimens. Read the descriptions carefully to check size, flowering season and any special growing requirements to be sure the new plants will fit in and thrive.

Designing
Whether you are looking forward to starting a new garden, or want to improve an existing one, winter is a good time to sit down with paper and pencil – or garden design software – and explore the possibilities of your plot. When foliage has died down, and the leaves are off deciduous trees and shrubs, it’s easier to see the main shapes and lines in your garden.

When you are busy working in the garden you tend to concentrate on the details and forget to stand back and look at the whole. View it from different windows in the house or wrap up warm and look at it from the road. Pretend you are seeing it for the first time. Note which areas are interesting and attractive, and which could do with being altered.

If your new design is going to mean more heavy work than you can manage yourself, or you’re not sure of the best way to put your ideas into practice, ask the advice of a professional landscape gardener who will be happy to visit and give you a free, no obligation consultation.

Start a diary
Begin the New Year with a gardening diary. You can buy a specially designed diary or make your own from an ordinary hardback notebook. Your entries can be as simple or detailed as you like, but recording seed sowing times, when and where you planted different species, which varieties flourished and which were disappointing, will all provide a source of useful information for future years.

Teach yourself
The fascinating – and sometimes frustrating – thing about gardening is that you never stop learning. There are always new plants, tips and techniques to discover. Do you have a pile of gardening magazines that you’ve collected over the past year but haven’t had time to read properly? Settle down now and catch up with what you missed. If you were given a book token for Christmas, treat yourself to a book on a gardening subject that particularly interests you, or visit your local library and borrow a whole armful of books!

However you spend the dreary winter days don’t get too comfy in that armchair. Before you know it, the spring bulbs will be pushing through the snow and it will be time to get back to work!