There should still be plenty of colour to enjoy
September’s shorter days and softer light are certainly autumnal, but there are still a few weeks before the leaves begin to fall and there is no reason for the garden to be fading just yet. Dahlias, hardy fuchsias, rudbeckias, asters and hylotelephiums ( previously known as sedums) all deliver fabulous late colour, which is bolstered by the bright berries of Sorbus, pyracanthas and cotoneasters. These vibrant fruits and late flowers also make valuable food sources for birds and insects, and a border alive with bees and butterflies is a treat on a sunny September day.
If your plot lacks early autumn spark, then cooler September conditions are ideal for planting shrubs and herbaceous perennials to add colour. Choose new specimens from nurseries and garden centres and lift, divide and replant existing perennials to save money; keep any spares to swap with friends. This process of digging up and pulling apart plants can seem rather brutal, but trust in the resilience of perennials to quickly reestablish when they are separated into chunks containing both healthy roots and shoots. Replant into soil improved with plenty of compost, water them in well, and they will grow away strongly in spring. Plant container grown shrubs now too, if the weather is cool and damp, so that their roots have the opportunity to establish during autumn and support next year’s new growth. If you plan to plant bare root trees, hedging, roses or shrubs, order them now for delivery during the dormant season.
Spring bulbs can also be planted now right through until early winter. Fill pots and borders with narcissi and crocuses, but wait until November to plant tulips to avoid disease. Try naturalising Cyclamen coum or wood anemones in the shade of deciduous trees or Crocus tommasinianus in grass that can remain uncut until their foliage dies down. I also love the late spring spikes of blue, star- shaped flowers produced by Camassia leichtlinii, which have multiplied from a few original bulbs to burst up among perennials throughout my borders.
Harvest is still in full swing in the productive garden, with autumn raspberries and early apple varieties, such as ‘ Discovery’ to pick, and onions, beetroot and carrots to lift. Main crop potatoes can be left in the soil until required, but if slugs are damaging them, lift the whole crop and leave them to dry on the soil before storing in paper sacks. Help greenhouse tomatoes to ripen by removing the lower leaves from plants to allow more sunlight to reach the fruit. If your tomatoes, peppers, chillies, aubergines have developed too late to ripen many fruits, try sowing them earlier next year ( in February or March indoors) to give them a longer growing season. ■