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What To Do In The Garden In October

October 1, 2018 By Jill Anderson 2 Comments

 

The Garden In October- pampas grass, yellow rudbeckia flowers

Pampas grass & Calamagrostis taking on their autumn shades

Bright days, cold nights & beautiful autumn colours are breaking out all over.

Tall grasses that have played a supporting role, become more noticeable in Autumn, as herbaceous plants begin to die back & the garden slides towards winter. It’s good to leave theses grasses in place & watch the changes as they develop into the colour of straw. They also provide some cover & seeds for birds.

Rudbeckia & Sedum are looking good in my garden & a few roses are hanging on, despite the nights being very chilly.

Bulbs:

These are such good value. Continue planting them, I admit to not planting any in my garden yet, this is not recommended, but the reality of life sometimes.

Bulbs are great in pots, where they can be moved around as they reach peak flowering time, but also in the ground for more permanent planting. As a rule of thumb, planting depth is twice the size of the bulb, but tulips I plant tulips 150cm/6in in the ground, so they don’t get damaged if I’m digging nearby.

Tulips are better planted in November/December so that proper cold kills off the spores of tulip virus.

Release all bulbs from packaging they arrived in, especially if its plastic, & keep them somewhere cool & airy.

tulip bulbs for sale

crocus bulbs on a table

I have a relaxed approach to tidying the garden, as long as the edges of the lawn are trimmed & the grass not too long, it all looks well ordered.

Then I remove dead foliage & debris from around the base of plants, & put it in the compost if it doesn’t show signs of disease, mould & the like.

Shrub Planting:

Its a great time of year to plant shrubs & trees. The ground is still warm & the next few months allow them to settle in & develop their roots all ready for next year.

Fruit & Vegetables:

Currents & Gooseberries:

This is the perfect time to plant bare-rooted currents & gooseberries. They have the great advantage of being cheaper, settle in more quickly than plants supplied in containers & there’ll be no plastic pots to deal with.

 

The Garden In October-bare-root fruit trees, www.growingnicely.co.uk

this is how bare-root plants arrive when ordered online.

Garlic:

Because it takes up room for so long, I used to think that garlic didn’t earn its place in a small garden, but the flavour of freshly picked garlic is gorgeous, & remains so, even when its been stored for a few months.

Plant it now, so the tip is just showing above the surface, 18cm/7in apart & 30cm/12in between rows. It’ll have plenty of time to develop into fat, juicy bulbs, before its harvested next summer.

Spent Vegetable Plants:

Clear out runner beans, courgettes, & all those plants that have finished producing. My runner beans have slowed down, but are still producing …. just, but they’ll be over by the end of this month.

Clear them out & put them in the compost bin, unless they look unhealthy, my courgette plants were decidedly covered in mildew. I love the whole process of using old plants to make compost, & using it in the garden the following year, its a satisfying cycle.

The Shed:

This is not an exciting one, but tidy the shed, clean tools & the glass in your greenhouse, it’s surprising how much a light a layer of grime excludes. Sit back & feel virtuous, you’ll be so glad you did this when next Spring comes around.

Despite the shorter days, this is a good time of year, though I’m relieved that the pace of the garden is slowing down.

Have a good month in the garden.

Jill

all photos: Jill Anderson

Related posts:

micro greensHow to grow micro greens. Growing Vegetables In Containers Big Changes To Our Garden. How To Avoid Watering Your Garden

Related posts:

micro greensHow to grow micro greens. Growing Vegetables In Containers Big Changes To Our Garden. How To Avoid Watering Your Garden
Filed Under: Blog, Growing Food, Recycling & Sustainability Tagged With: the garden in October

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Comments

  1. julie Quinn says

    October 10, 2018 at 8:19 am

    Lovely post . I haven’t even bought my tulips yet but I have planted alliums and narcissi. The weather here in London has been and is still glorious with sunshine on the autumn foliage, especially grasses. Every day is a treat. I think we will all enjoy October in our gardens.

    Reply
    • Jill Anderson says

      October 10, 2018 at 3:50 pm

      Hi Julie,

      I’m very behind with bulb planting too!
      October has been lovely so far, it often is. The autumn colours show up so well against the brilliant blue skies we’ve had. & today everyone has been out in T-shirts! …. then I remember global warming & the picture isn’t quite so jolly.
      Enjoy the rest of the month in your garden. Jill

      Reply

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Jill-profile image

Hello, I’m Jill Anderson.
This is where you’ll find good, solid information about gardening, growing fruit & vegetables and how to keep it all looking good.
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The healing, calming power of nature in one photo. The healing, calming power of nature in one photo.
These wonderful autumn colours won’t be around for much longer. But that’s ok, because now is what matters, & their fleeting beauty makes them even more precious.
It’s easy to see how being among trees & nature is so beneficial for our health & wellbeing. 
Have a great Sunday.
Savouring all the autumn colour, & doesn’t it lo Savouring all the autumn colour, & doesn’t it look spectacular with this bold front door.
Today has been hard work, after a lovely time last week in Norfolk. The north coast there is spectacular. Realising these last few months, that there are so many beautiful places here. 
Have a nice evening.
Charming glasshouse at Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Vis Charming glasshouse at Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Visiting to see the Anish Kapoor sculptures, which are amazing, but unprepared for the beauty of the grounds & garden. 
Such a treat, worth coming to Norfolk for this alone!
Hope you’re keeping well, & managing to smile some of the time. x
P.S. more of Houghton Hall & Anish Kapoor on my stories
We stopped off on the way home to pick blackberrie We stopped off on the way home to pick blackberries, after coffee & cake, sitting in the churchyard - the cafe was full, & the churchyard is a quiet, peaceful spot..... as you’d expect.
-
One little advantage of lockdown is walking so much more, rather than using the car. Though it shouldn’t have taken something as momentous as this, for me to change bad habits 🙁
Hope you’re weekend is going well.
My hazel arch, a bit lopsided 🙄 using wood from My hazel arch, a bit lopsided 🙄 using wood from a random clump of hazel on the garden. Now looking much better covered in winter squash plants, so you can’t see just how ramshackle it is. I like to think it has a certain home-spun charm .

Great for small space gardening, imagine how much room you need to grow these without vertical supports.

I’ve got 2 Uchiki kuri, lovely nutty flavour.
1 Turks turban, for its flamboyant shape & colours, though it also tastes good.
One unknown, grown by my grandsons in their homeschooled science lesson.
Close-ups of the squash over on my stories.
Stay cool my friends x
I wanted to show you this lovely lily ( Lilium reg I wanted to show you this lovely lily ( Lilium regale) which is flowering right outside our bedroom window. 
It gets sun for about 4 hours only, you can order the bulbs now for planting in September. It’ll reappear every year & waft delicious scent around your garden, or through your windows.
Have a very happy Monday x
It’s British Flower Week, there’s a lot to be It’s British Flower Week, there’s a lot to be said for fabulous seasonal flowers that haven’t travelled thousands of miles ...... & are wonderful for biodiversity
A bit of rain, nice long days (it’s almost mid-s A bit of rain, nice long days (it’s almost mid-summer!) & it’s, mostly, all growing nicely.

Spinach, courgettes & garlic in shot here. 
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday x
Hope is a decision I’ve thought long & hard abou Hope is a decision
I’ve thought long & hard about how to view the tumult in the world we’re living in now. 
The only thing that works for me, is to choose hope.

It’s a tall order, but avoiding mainstream news & speculation helps avoid the anxiety, that’s often waiting in the wings.

One day soon there’ll be grandchildren clambering over this again.
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