MORE GARDENING
For those of you who are l ucky enough to have a meadow, or simply an area of l ong grass, t he t i me has come to mow i t. Choose a dry day and cut it several times.
Begin with your mower on the highest setting and lower the blades with each cut. Small areas of extra-tall grass can be cut with a strimmer or brush cutter.
If there are meadow flowers (pictured right), allow the ‘hay’ to lie for a few days. That enables seeds to shed and filter into the turf.
Then rake up all you can and run the mower over the grass again for a neat finish.
The shorn grass may look horrible, but will soon green over. And, once it’s been cut, you’ll find it easy to plant
DO THE SPLITS
DIG UP your f avourite perennials and divide them to p r ovi d e young vigorous plants.
This will ensure a better show next year and also prolongs their life. You should do t hi s with your columbines, perennial poppies, cranesbills and any other clumpforming or spreading perennial no l onger in flower.
Cut away the tops of mature plants, dig them out and tease naturalising bulbs into the turf for a spring show.
CUTTING EDGE
If you rooted hardy cuttings during summer, you can plant them out now.
But choose only those large enough to survive among more mature perennials.
Mark each with a stick or label so you’ll know where they are when you clean up your borders. Plants too small to survive in a bed can be kept in their pots until spring. Group them in an open cold frame or a sheltered part of your garden.
Te nd e r or borderline varieties such as penstemons and osteospermums are vulnerable when young. Keep them f rost- f ree f or their fi r st winter, ei t her in a greenhouse or cold frame, with fleece protection.
By late spring, they’ll be hardy enough for permanent planting outdoors. the clumps apart. Discard the ageing central part of each plant and tease away outer sections that carry roots and shoots. Re- plant t hese divisions in groups or pot up f or planting next spring. Potted hardy perennials need no special protection, so you don’t have to overwinter them in a greenhouse. Autumn- bl ooming plants can be split later, when they’ve finished flowering, or left until spring.