Lawns – so it’s a busy time on your lawn in October, but here’s a tip to make life easier! For those final mowings of the season, use the mower to shred the leaves and add organic humus to the lawn – it saves you the problem of sweeping them up!

November is a good time for contemplation. Take a good luck at your lawns. Happy with them? If not, look at an action plan for next year in terms of what needs doing and when.

There are some good companies operating nationally who will come and renovate your lawn and carry out all maintenance leaving you to do just the mowing to do!

It is a well-known fact that the earlier we can celebrate the joy of gardening with our children the more likely they are to continue growing their own vegetables, fruit, and flowers in the future. 

Clear up and tidy! A bit of thought and action now will prevent trouble next year.

Remove the last fading blooms from roses and cut back taller stems by half to prevent winter ‘wind rock’ from loosening the plants roots.

In the herbaceous border you can take and root cuttings from perennials such as fuchsias, pelargoniums and Salvias.

As temperatures rise, so do the numbers of slugs and snails, so keep a close watch. As darkness comes, you can make a trip around the garden with a torch and remove the offenders.