Tasks for September

Give hedges a last trim so they go into the winter with a crisp outline, setting off your garden perfectly and looking particularly handsome just rimed with frost. Hedges are invaluable in the garden. As well as drawing the boundaries between you and your neighbours, they create protective windbreaks to keep the worst of the weather off your precious plants. [...]

September's plant of the month is the Japanese anemone, a real star of the border at this time of year. You usually associate woodland plants which enjoy shade with the spring - but Japanese anemones come into their own in early autumn, just as other more summery plants are beginning to fade and just as you need a new injection [...]

What to do in the garden in September: Time to rev up again: this is one of the busiest months in the year, so arm yourself with secateurs and a trowl - it's time to go gardening! Here are a few of the jobs you can be getting on with: General tasks: Plant, plant, plant! Early autumn is by far [...]

Stock up on spring bulbs to fill your garden with colour just when you need it most, as the chill of winter gives way to the warmth of a new gardening year. Plan your display carefully and you can have colour from December right through till May with bulbs you can buy and plant now. Among the first to peep [...]

Love your conifers for National Conifer Week this week – a perfect chance to get to know this wonderfully diverse yet often misunderstood group of plants. You'll probably find at least one conifer in your own garden – a recent poll carried out by the Horticultural Trades Association found almost a third of garden owners had one. And no wonder: [...]

Stake taller asters as they're top heavy in full flower and very vulnerable to being knocked over by the heavy rain and gusty winds of autumn. A little extra support at this time of year does wonders to keep your clumps perky and upright. You can use all kinds of material to stake your plants but try to make them [...]