The importance of autumn
There is so much you can do this season, says the RHS
WHILE spring is traditionally seen as the ‘start’ of the gardening year, autumn is just as (if not more) vital. Yet more than half of all adults questioned by the RHS didn’t know this important fact!
The world-leading horticultural
charity commissioned pollsters
YouGov to chart people’s attitudes to gardening and
65% of UK adults were not aware that autumn is the most important season for planting.
Of those questioned, 61% didn’t know tulip and daffodil bulbs are planted in autumn and
43% consigned fallen leaves to their council garden waste bins instead of using them to make leaf mould at home.
These statistics have spurred the RHS to launch its Grow at Home This Autumn scheme to ‘encourage and help people to plant now to save water and money’.
Leaves make the finest soil improver
This scheme will pinpoint the environmental and economical benefits of autumn gardening and planting, including the fact that as the soil is damp and still warm after summer, it is the ideal time for planting (and you need to water less with damp weather ahead).
Trees fare better when they are planted in autumn or winter, and this is also the only time that young, cheap bare root plants are available.
Chief horticulturist at the RHS, Guy Barter, said: “Leaves often vex gardeners, so no wonder two out of five consign them to the green waste bin, but leaves make the finest soil improver as leafmould. Making leafmould helps the environment by eliminating the cost and carbon emissions associated with green waste collection. Equally beneficial is raking leaves into heaps under shrubs and trees – they rot away won’t promote slug damage or smother lawns and plants around woody plants.”
“Garden compost also makes brilliant soil improver, second only to leafmould, and it is free.”
Stock up on essential items
Sue Biggs, RHS director general, said: “Helping people to garden is core to the RHS’s being, especially for the environment and their health. With the recent growth in gardening, many don’t know that autumn is arguably the most important gardening season, which is something we’re committed to changing by promoting and sharing the benefits of gardening now.”
With Brexit on the horizon and the threat of more Covid lockdowns, the RHS is also advising gardeners to stock up – but not stockpile – items such as compost, in case of price increases and product unavailability.