A few jobs for the weekend
Now is a great time to do a few essential jobs while things are a little quieter generally in the garden.
Pruning
Tall deciduous shrubs like roses, tree mallow (lavatera) and butterfly bush (buddleia) that will be pruned in early spring are best cut back by about a third now (October) to prevent wind-rocking.
Planting
Trees, shrubs, roses and fruit bushes can be planted from the middle of the month onwards.
Prepare the ground in advance by digging it over and mixing in lots of compost or well-rotted manure.
Add some more compost to the planting hole.
Plant roses and blackcurrants a few centimetres deeper than they were growing previously to encourage shoots to grow directly from the ground.
Protecting & preserving
Herbs growing outside will mostly die back during the winter, but with a bit of forward planning you can keep using your own herbs right through the coldest months.
You can’t beat fresh-picked herbs for flavour.
Favourites like mint, sage and parsley can be potted up and brought inside this month to provide you with fresh foliage all winter.
Parsley growing outside can also be covered with cloches.
Dried herbs can be kept in the kitchen.
Cut the fresh foliage early on a fine day, tie the sprigs in small bunches and hang them upside-down to dry in a cool airy room – not the bathroom or kitchen.
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