JOBS for the week

Late summer can be a good time to pick up bargains at your local garden centre. Perennials that have finished flowering are often at reduced rates – and at this time of year, they can be divided into a couple of smaller plants, giving you even better value. Look for late summer flowering perennials like rudbeckias, asters and chrysanthemums which could give you lots of colour through to

November.

Get your biennials – wallflowers, sweet Williams, honesty, foxgloves and forgetme-nots into their final flowering position. Either you will have sown their seeds earlier this summer or, if not, you can buy stock from your local nursery.

You can still sow crops for late autumn harvest such as lettuce, spring onion, radish, rocket and lamb’s lettuce.

Sweet pea lovers – it’s time to choose varieties for next year. They’re best sown from late September through early October to get a head start for next spring.

As grass growth decreases, heighten the blade on your lawn mower. Reseed worn patches. Consider sowing hardy annuals for next year. The benefit of sowing now or early autumn will be an earlier display next spring. This won’t be suitable for halfhardy or tender annuals and even your hardy sowings may need some protection in a very harsh winter. Suitable candidates include poppies, nigella (love-ina-mist) and cornflowers.

Treat vine weevil infection with nematodes – this treatment works best while soil is warm.

Purchase narcissi Paperwhites for forcing indoors in time for Christmas.