Weekly jobs

IT’S a good time for pruning. Inspect trees and shrubs for dead or diseased branches and remove. Leave acers and birches until midwinter because any other time they can bleed sap. Save twigs and branches for Bonfire Night.

TENDER plants like salvias need to be dug up, potted and put in a frost-free conservatory for the winter. Cover the crowns of tender plants you are leaving outside with a thick dry mulch.

PONDS need attention before winter sets in. Remove and clean the pump if you have one. Thin out oxygenating plants if these have taken over and remove any old leaves and debris from the bottom.

WRAP up bananas, tree ferns and other tender species you are leaving outside for winter – horticultural fleece or straw with hessian is good.

LIFT pumpkins for Halloween and plant out autumn onion sets and garlic bulbs