Gardener's Diary September 2006

Sixty fifth edition -  September 2006   

Are you fed up with the endless ants nests in your garden? There's some useful information about them here.

Gardens recovered slightly in August from the heat of the previous month, but if your lawn is still brown and dead-looking, rake all the dead grass out and remove it, because it tends to lie flat and prevent the new shoots from coming through. Finally give it an Autumn weed and feed..

I've just received Thompson & Morgan's New 2007 Press Pack and am pleased to see that there are more fruit and vegetable seeds than flower seeds amongst their newest varieties available for next year.. In particular the following varieties of both flowers and vegetables appealed to me:- 

Talking of seeds, this is the time of year when you can collect your own seed from the garden to use for your flower displays next year..

JOBS FOR THE MONTH

House plants

Reduce watering and feeding gradually this month, until the winter minimum is reached. Ensure plants are in tip top condition and sited correctly, to ensure they survive the winter months.

Lawns

Mower blades should be raised a notch to give a longer cut. As I advised in my introduction this month, the lawn will benefit from a good raking to remove any dead grass. Finally apply an autumn weed and feed, taking care to follow instructions regarding the composting of treated clippings.

Herbaceous borders

Continue dead-heading, weeding and hoeing, to keep the borders looking neat. You can still sow many biennials straight into the ground, such as Cornflowers, Foxgloves and Sweet Williams, and they will get away to an early start next year. I  collect seeds from the various biennial plants I want, jumble them all up and throw them into the borders. The result is great and I can always thin out those I don`t want. 

Vegetables

This is the main month for harvesting your crops, preferably on a dry day, and preparing them for storage over winter. A good month for making tomato chutney once you have stripped all the plants of their fruit. It is possible to `sun-dry` tomatoes in the oven and overwinter them! 

Ponds  

Aquatic plants will start to die down this month, leaving the pond looking a bit worse for wear. I usually bite the bullet and give nature a helping hand by cutting foliage down before it becomes an eyesore. I can then put the wire mesh lid over the pond to keep the falling leaves from adding to the rotting plants and producing gases that can harm the fish. Oxygenating plants can go too as they are more hindrance than help in the winter, for they become inactive as oxygen-producers, but contribute to the production of toxic gases as some of their growth decays. 

Wildlife

September - the month of the sleepy wasps and small animals getting ready to hibernate. I have got the bird feeders and bird table out of the shed and have cleaned them up ready for another season of feeding the bird population. I make "fat balls" for the birds by gently heating lard, mixing in bird seed and forming balls when cooled, finally putting them in the netting that oranges and onions come in, and hanging them around the garden..  

Volunteering with the National Trust

Volunteers are active in all parts of the National Trust, from the new central office in Swindon to the summits of Snowdonia and Divis Mountain near Belfast.

View their latest opportunities, or find out more about the kind of roles and different places you can volunteer:

Still with the National Trust, some of the most visited National Trust properties are now holding regular farmers' and food markets.  Click here for details  and dates.

RHS gardens

Their four flagship gardens not only provide year-round interest and offer a wide range of courses, talks and demonstrations, they also demonstrate the best gardening practices, new techniques and exciting new plants to try in your garden.

• Visit Wisley in Surrey
• Visit Rosemoor in Devon
• Visit Hyde Hall in Essex
• Visit Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire

Or go to their website for a diary of all other events at:-    http://www.rhs.org.uk/WhatsOn/index.asp

Thompson & Morgan 

Visit  www.thompson-morgan.com where full information is available on their product varieties and orders can be taken on-line.  Have a look to see what is new and any special seasonal offers

Some places to visit...

www.edenproject.com 

The living theatre of plants and people
The Eden Project is a gateway into the world of plants and people. A meeting place for all to discover how we depend on plants and how we can help to manage and conserve them for our mutual survival.

Kew Gardens two locations:-

http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/

The National Botanic Gardens of Scotland comprise:

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Scotland's Premier Garden

Benmore Botanic Garden, Argyll
Argyll's Magnificent Mountainside Garden

Dawyck Botanic Garden, Borders
Wonderful Woodland Garden

Logan Botanic Garden, Galloway
Scotland's Most Exotic Garden

The National Botanic Garden of Wales

www.gardenofwales.org.uk

The star attraction here is the 91 metre long domed glasshouse, that houses landscapes normally found in the Mediterranean. This would be a super place to visit on a chilly day...

Some websites of interest to gardeners:-

www.carryongardening.co.uk

Gardening is an important part of many people's lives. You don't have to give up gardening because of accident or illness, the onset of disability or the problems associated with growing older. The information on their website is designed to provide you with the information to Carry on Gardening.

Carry on Gardening was initiated by the horticultural charity Thrive and is funded by the National Lottery Charities Board.  It brings together information on easy ways of gardening gathered over 23 years by Thrive and research carried out since the early 1970s by Mary Marlborough Centre, Oxford, on tools and equipment for disabled and older people. 

The founder of www.maple-landscapes.com is my eldest son.. give him a call if you live in the Leicester area of the UK and have need of his services.. 

Useful reading:-

"The Yellow Book" contains information of all Gardens of England and Wales open for charity, and can be bought priced £5 from National Gardens Scheme  www.ngs.org.uk

National Trust Gardens Handbook is £6.99 and the new edition is out in May  Telephone 01394 389 950 or see their website www.nationaltrust.org.uk

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