Autumn’s Arrival

It always seems that September is gone before I ever really get chance to notice it. It’s a real month of changes, and we are always extremely busy. Before you know it, we are in October and still trying to get to grips with the list of jobs for September. There’s a real sense of autumn in the last few days, and I can see the colours starting to change in the trees, and a distinct drop in temperature and darker mornings has us feeling tired and, in some cases, a little grumpy. The starlings are starting to gather in the treetops, the last of the swallows have headed off to warmer climes and the squirrels are busy foraging in our arboretums.
Our apples and other fruit have been picked and harvested, and we have made our usual organic apple juice, cider, ice creams and jams which we will be selling in the cafe and shop. It has all proved to be very popular with the tourists and locals. It’s been an exceptional year for apples, and we have had a bumper crop, which means we were able to experiment with a new beetroot and apple juice, which is now available for sale. It is very tasty and extremely good for you, so makes a nice addition to our range. We are also expanding our range of in-house products that are available in the shop, including more jams and preserves, herb mixes, candles, and seeds so keep your eye out for those.
This is traditionally the time for cutting back, tidying, and preparing for the winter. I have started to watch the overnight temperatures, and we have already begun to move some of our tender specimen plants from the Jungle Borders and the Fern Garden into their winter homes in our glasshouse and poly tunnel. Our large potted cacti were the first to go in. These distinctive rounded barrel cactus have the memorable name of ‘mother-in-law’s cushion’. They are extremely dramatic when placed through the rock garden but unfortunately our damp winters would prove fatal for them.
We are expecting our main bulb delivery in the next few days and can’t wait to get planting. We have our usual range of tulips, hyacinths and a few more unusual species for the herbaceous border and poison garden. Although we use a certain amount of what I would term ‘bedding bulbs’ I much prefer to use bulbs that can survive in our climate and will settle in and spread, as they represent much better value for money. We have had great success with woodland anemones and bluebells on some of our walks and we will keep adding to this every year.
Winter bedding will be planted out over the next few weeks. It’s always a challenge to get good winter flowers in our unpredictable climate and I have given up using pansies, which never seem to perform well for us. We are going to use a lot more Heathers mixed with other filler plants that offer good foliage colour and structure. Skimmias provide a good Christmassy look with their red berries, and we generally mix in a few other things such as assorted grasses, variegated ivy and small cordylines that will add to the interest and brighten up the beds over the duller months.
Jobs for October include tie in and cutting back of raspberry and loganberry canes if you haven’t already, bulb planting around the garden, apply autumn fertiliser to lawns, lift and divide herbaceous plants if you need to, and cut them back as they die down, stop feeding indoor plants now, tidy up beds, borders and glasshouses and make plans for next year.
There is still some good late summer colour in the borders, and this will soon be followed by the autumn show. I look forward to seeing you in the gardens. Adam

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