Sow sweet peas now
Sow sweet peas now for early flowers next year and a riot of colour and fragrance weeks before spring-sown plants are ready. Sweetpeas are one of the nation's favourite flowers and ideal for attracting pollinating insects into the plot as well as providing sweetly-scented cut flowers for the table. Getting them sown in autumn and keeping them going through winter [...]
Ripen the last of your tomatoes
Ripen the last of your tomatoes while there's still warmth in the autumn sunshine – you've got a couple of weeks before you run out of time and have to admit defeat. Even in good summers, it's a lucky gardener who ripens every tomato perfectly - but with quick action now you can increase your red tomato quota considerably. Early [...]
Dust off the spade
Dust off the spade and put your back into some autumn digging: with the soil still workable yet nice and damp from the autumn rains, it's the perfect time of year to turn new beds or improve established ones. There's hot debate over whether or not digging is necessary: many don't dig at all, saying it destroys the soil's structure. [...]
Gardeners could be changing migration patterns
Gardeners could be changing migration patterns according to the British Trust for Ornithology, who have been looking into how bird behaviour is changing as a result of our habit of feeding our feathered friends with a feast of peanuts, seeds and fat balls. Researchers analysed the results of the BTO's annual garden bird survey from the last 12 years and [...]
Jobs for October 3
The tang of autumn is in the air and there's a certain urgency creeping in this month, as you've only a few weeks to get the harvest in and settle the garden down for its long winter rest. Here's what to do: General tasks: Hold off pruning hedges which have berries, like hawthorn, blackthorn, bramble or dog roses, so birds [...]
The plant of the month for October 3
The plant of the month for October is the conifer, and there's a good reason to be celebrating these beautiful evergreen trees as this week is National Conifer Week. Chances are you already have a conifer in your garden as they're hugely popular garden trees. Whether you've got a container, tiny city garden or acres of lawn, you'll find a [...]