Now is the time of year when temperatures start to drop, so you need to be aware that any half-hardy and tender plants will need some form of protection. It is also a wonderful time to enjoy late flowering plants, the crops that are ready for harvesting and the beautiful colours in the trees prior to the leaves falling over the coming weeks. This is a great time to get out in the garden, take in the atmosphere of the season and enjoy the fruits of your labours.

• Now is a great time to plant shrubs, hedging and trees while the soil is still warm but also moist. When doing so make sure you give your plant a good start by using well-rotted manure or compost along with a handful of bone meal mixed into the planting hole.
• Transplant any Rhododendrons or Azaleas that require moving making sure that you use Ericaceous compost in the planting hole or the container you may be moving it into.
• Give established hedges a final cut for the year and lightly trim ones that have recently been planted.
• Take hardwood cuttings of deciduous and evergreen shrubs and place them in a cold frame to root.
• Thin the top growth of suckering shrubs such as Philadelphus to promote good root growth.
• Make sure ties and supports of trees and climbers are secure as any gales could cause damage.
• Top-dress rose bushes and climbers with sulphate of potash which will help new shoots to harden and so protect the plant.
• Prune hard back any rambling or climbing roses.

• Sow spring herbs such as Parsley and Chervil both directly outdoors in the soil and also indoors in pots or trays.
• Plant out Spring Cabbage towards the end of the month.
• Sow seeds of Broad Beans, Spring Cabbage, Carrots and Lettuce giving them protection with a cloche to gain an early crop next year.
• Cut down the stems of Tomatoes and any unripe fruit you may have can be brought indoors and placed with a Banana to ripen off.
• Apples and Pears can now be harvested which are best for storage when picked when they are not fully ripe.

• Tidy up your borders by clearing away any annuals that are now faded or past their best. You can then fill these spaces by sowing seeds of hardy annuals such as Candytuft, Cornflower, Larkspur, Love-in-the-mist and Poppy.
• Plant the bulbs of Irises making sure you choose a sunny well-drained spot.
• For a good impact of colour next spring, plant out hardy bedding plants such as Pansies, Violas, Polyanthus, Primulas and Wallflowers.
• Plant up prepared Hyacinth bulbs in containers using bulb fibre. Place these in a cool, dark area until the flower spikes start to show.
• Sow Marigold seeds in trays or pots of compost making sure you provide them with a frost-free place to grow.

• Using a spring-tine rake remove any dead grass from your lawn.
• Make holes all over the lawn with a fork and then fill the holes with sand or a specific lawn dressing. This will help to aerate the lawn and thus improve the drainage.
• Now is a good time to lay new turf making sure that you water regularly so that it does not dry out.
• Any worn or damaged patches you may have in your lawn can be repaired using a mix of seed with a sandy loam sprinkled on the area and then watered in.
• Continue to mow the lawn but raise the height of the blades of your mower so as not to leave the grass too short.
• Tidy up the bog garden by removing any decaying foliage from plants that die back naturally after frosts.
• Reduce the amount you feed any pond fish, as they will slowly start to go into hibernation, as the weather gets colder.

• Top-dress Rhododendrons and Azaleas with a thick layer of mulch using leaf-mould or ericaceous compost around the base of each plant.
• Plant container grown trees and shrubs remembering to stake and tie in trees to prevent movement in any high winds which otherwise would upset the roots and could lead to the tree not establishing itself properly in the ground.
• Transplant evergreen shrubs making sure you soak the roots well before re-planting to prevent them from drying out and dying.
• Plant new hedges making sure you improve the planting hole with some well-rotted manure or compost. Plant about 60cm apart and mulch well as soon as they are planted.
• Prune out any crossing or badly placed branches of deciduous trees and shrubs.
• Continue to take hardwood cuttings of both deciduous and evergreen shrubs and placing them in a cold frame.
• Plant shrubs to attract and feed birds during the winter by using red-berried shrubs such as Holly and Cotoneaster.
• Prune back the stems of Roses by half so as to prevent the wind rocking them around during the winter.
• Plant up containers and hanging baskets that will provide you with winter colour by using such things as Aucuba, Dwarf Conifers, Heathers and Skimmias.

• Prepare soil for winter by digging over and incorporating plenty of well-rotted manure and leaving the soil in large pieces for the frosts to break it down.
• Lift and store your main crop potatoes and also finish harvesting such things as Beetroot, Marrows, Radishes and any Tomatoes you may have left in the greenhouse.
• In southern areas plant out Cabbage plants making sure you keep them well watered until established to give a crop in early spring. Other things that can be planted and given a little protection now are Broad Beans, Spinach, Lettuce and Peas.
• Cover the buds of Rhubarb plants with straw or a purpose made forcing pot. This process prevents chlorophyll from forming which makes the stems far more tender. Other plants that can be put through this process include Chicory, Endive, Cardoons and Celery.
• Cut down the stalks of Peas and Beans but leave the roots in the ground, as these are a great source of enrichment for the soil.

• Once the foliage of Dahlias have blackened you can cut them down, lift them from the soil, dry them out and then store them in a dry, frost-free place ready for next year.
• Plant up borders for next year using hardy perennials and biennials and bulbs to give colour in the spring.
• Sow sweet peas directly in the soil outdoors with some protection by using a cloche or sow indoors using pots.
• Lift, divide and re-plant any perennials that have become to big for the space they are in. This will also help to promote better flowering next year.
• Keep a check on bulbs that are being forced in pots such as Hyacinths to make sure they have not dried out and if necessary water lightly if required.
• Tender bulbs such as Agapanthus, Amaryllis and Nerines should be moved to a frost-free position such as an unheated greenhouse.
• Bring into a cool frost-free place such things as Fuchsias and Pelargonium and keep them on the dry side to allow them to rest over the winter.

• Now is the ideal month to lay new lawns with turf as the soil is still warm but moist to encourage a good root growth.
• Make sure you keep any leaves that fall on the lawn raked up as otherwise it can cause fungal infections that can kill the grass.
• Using a stiff broom brush any worm casts that may appear on the lawn into the soil.
• Make sure you keep the blades of mowers set to a high level so as not to cut the grass too short.
• Remove any leaves that may have fallen into your pond and put some netting across to stop any more that may fall.
• Continue to feed fish with only small amounts of feed.
• Any bog plants that have become overgrown can be lifted, divided and replanted.

• Cover the stems of tender, tropical plants such as Palms and Tree Ferns with sacking or horticultural fleece.
• Plant bare-rooted deciduous trees and shrubs and also continue to plant container grown specimens making sure you water them in well.
• Take heel cuttings of Winter Jasmine and place them in a cold frame to allow them to root.
• Now is a good time to plant bare-rooted roses. Make sure you prune out any damaged shoots and roots and provide a good mix of compost and bone meal for filling the planting hole in with.
• Prune back just the top growth of any clematis you may have in pots to prevent them from being damaged in any winter gales. Any harder pruning can be done to them in the spring.

• Protect crops of over wintering vegetables from frost by placing cloches over them and also straw over the top of root crops.
• Any suckers that appear on Globe Artichokes can be removed and potted up and put in a cold frame to grow on.
• Plant fruit trees and bushes but if they are bare-rooted make sure it is a mild day to prevent the roots getting damaged. Provide a good strong stake for trees and tie them in giving a good mulch of compost once planted.
• Soft fruit such as Gooseberries and Red Currents can be pruned back by have and if possible trying to provide a nice open goblet shape to allow air to circulate iin the middle of the bush. This will help to prevent disease occurring when the plant is in full growth next year.

• Dig over any new borders making sure you leave the soil in large pieces to allow the frost to break it down.
• Tidy up flowerbeds by deadheading and cutting back any dead stems and removing any supports or canes that have been used. These can be cleaned up and put into storage ready for next year.
• Mulch the borders with something like a leaf mould to help condition the soil and help to protect the dormant plants over the winter.
• Prepare the tubers and corms of Chrysanthemum, Dahlia and Gladioli by throwing away any that look at all diseased and placing them in dry sand or compost and storing them in a cool, dark, well ventilated and frost free place.
• Give Nerines a thick layer of mulch to protect them from the winter weather.
• Bring forced bulbs such as Hyacinths into a cool, well-lit position to allow them to flower.
• Tender plants that have been brought into the greenhouse for the winter will need a temperature of around 7-10ºc so you may need to heat the area during cold frosty nights.

• It is too late now to be sowing lawns but what you can do is dig over the area and leave it in large clumps for the frost to break it down which will mean that it will be much better to work with in the spring.
• Continue to aerate the lawn to improve drainage and carry on removing any leaves that fall onto both new and established lawns.
• Any laying of turf should be carried out as soon as possible or otherwise it will be too late and the job will have to be left until the spring.
• So long as the weather stays mild and the grass continues to grow you can carry on mowing the lawn but making sure that you keep your mower blades set to a high level.
• Continue to remove any leaves that may fall into your pond and carry on feeding your fish small amounts until the end of the month by which time you should then look at stopping until the spring.