RHS tips for this month
RHS tips for this month:-
1. Divide herbaceous perennials.
2. Pick Autumn raspberries.
3. Collect and sow seeds of perennials and hardy annuals.
4. Dig up remaining potatoes before slug damage.
5. Net ponds before leaf fall gets underway.
6. Keep up with watering of new plants.
7. Start to reduce frequency of house plant watering.
8. Clean out cold frames and greenhouses ready for Autumn.
9. Cover leafy vegetables with bird proof netting.
10. Plant Spring flowering bulbs.
We need to be sowing Sweet Peas in a cold frame now for early blooms next year.
Take Pelargonium cuttings now. These plants often do better grown this way. A window sill is a good place to bring them on and keep them away from frost.
If you have Crocosmia, now is a good time to divide them which will improve next year’s display.
Climbing Roses can be pruned once they've finished flowering. Side shoots from main branches can be cut back to one or two buds and take out any weak or diseased growth. Take hard wood cuttings of roses, choosing well ripened, healthy shoots.
September is a good month to plant new shrubs and move established ones as they will have all Winter to settle in. Do not forget to stake these.
Work on the lawn this month if you can. If sowing seed or laying turf this is the best time of year to do it. Make sure to use the right lawn feed for this time of year. The fertiliser should have less nitrogen so as not to encourage too much growth which can weaken the grass leading in to Winter.
A really tedious job at this time of year, especially in Wenvoe as we have a great number of trees, is raking up leaves or, as some do, blowing them around the garden until they get giddy. Just rake the leaves from borders and paths onto the lawn and mow them up along with a bit of grass as this makes excellent compost material. A small space in your garden is all you need to make compost and save money in the process.
Using a mulch on borders is something that can be done all year round. It helps with moisture retention, acts as frost protection and cuts down on a lot of weeding. Buying enough to do this properly can become expensive. So the next time you see a tree surgeon working in the area, ask them for some of the wood that they have put through their shredder. They will be more than willing to let you have it as it costs them to tip it.
Local wildlife enthusiast Peter Ferris, whose back garden attracts as many birds as his car did in his misspent youth, has grown the most prolific tomatoes outdoors this Summer. If forecasters are right then drier Summers will mean rethinking what we plant. Gardeners who concentrated on Pelargoniums this year had great displays as these plants need a lot less water.
This month brings some good events to celebrate harvest time. The Village Show shows off the many and varied skills of Wenvoe folk – no tinned veg on display there! Around at the church the Scarecrow Festival takes place. It has been said that this is not a competition but a festival where parishioners turn up with their creations and praise each other on their masterpieces. In reality, this is where the Reverend needs all his skills of diplomacy to keep order and stop any skullduggery. Can't wait.