Wait for that first frost before booting grim 2020 into touch
Everyone seems to want to get on with planting ready for spring next year – but do hold on until you have a frost for that will kill off the summer bedding plants. So before you rush out there trying to clear everything away, remember that there are still a few flowers and lots of foliage which will furnish the garden in winter.
I know, I say that every year!
But for the eager among you, there's nothing wrong in going out to buy some plants and looking after them in a nice, light place so they continue to grow.
If you do this, you can select the colours of flowers you would like to see in the garden early. So you can forget all about everything being mixed.
Hanging baskets are often a failure during the winter – they are far too exposed up in the air with cold winds attacking them every few days.
Therefore, take them down once they have stopped blooming. S hake out the old compost and put it on to a border or into the compost heap.
Now, clean the baskets and put them away until next May. Or you could use those baskets, upturned, to cover tulip bulbs in the rock garden.
But because of the protection a wall offers, the flat-backed wall baskets should be fine and enhance a plain wall well. A very good display may be achieved if they are fixed so that one is about two feet below the other.
While it may not be possible to achieve a cascade of flowers similar to tho se in summer, it can still look really good.
The compost for plant containers is important.
Garden soil on its own is useless – we need a g ood compost and John Innes N umber 3 is the strongest. It's also a lot less likely to dry out or be
come too wet.
If you had summer plants in containers, it's a good idea at this time of year to take out the top half of the compost and replace it with fresh compost.
This not only sustains the plants but gives you the opportunity to take out any vine weevil grubs which may be devouring the roots of the old flowers. It’s n ot the most pleasant job. W hen you find them, simply squash them between your thumb and forefinger.
Tubs, troughs and pots are best emptied completely. Place some pieces of broken flowerpot over holes that should be in the base to allow excess water to escape.
After emptying them, half fill them with the old compost and then top up with the new.
However, next summer we shall have to renew all the compost with fresh John Innes compost.
Remember to put all containers on little feet so earthworms can’t get into the compost.
Why?
Worms in containers eat all the organic matter, like peat, and leave behind silt.
Oh, I almost forgot: shake roses out of pots and renew the whole pot with John Innes Number 3 compost which, again, is the best one for this job.