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Thirtieth edition - October 2003
This is the last of Jobs for the month until February, but
from now until then, I want to hear from other gardening
enthusiasts. Tell us about your garden and any projects you have planned or
perhaps already achieved: your summer in the garden, or just your thoughts on
gardening as you get older. Do you perhaps live in a warmer climate than the UK and have
tropical birds and flowers we can hear about?
I shall have a "Guest of the month" slot for a few
months, so write to me rosemary@laterlife.com
and I will get back to you..
I would also appreciate your feed-back about the answers I have given
you and if your gardening problem was solved..
At last we have had some much needed rain after a long dry, hot spell.
Hopefully you haven`t lost any treasured plants in your garden. This garden was newly
planted four years ago when we moved here, so I took the advice given by the experts and
planted as many drought tolerant plants as I could. This together with lots of mulching
and home made compost has ensured a fairly weatherproof garden.
October is a busy month, with not only the garden to tidy and make secure
for the winter, but seeds to collect from favourite flowers and cuttings to take from
tender perennial shrubs that may succumb to the frost. Take time to visit the Sunday
markets and car boot sales, and you might come away with an unusual plant, or just
something of good value for the garden...
I`ve just bought some of those daft spiked sandals from www.ebay.co.uk that slip over your shoes.. You walk all
over the dry patches in your lawn and the spikes aerate it.. Well they were cheap enough
and it is hard work with the garden fork. I just hope the neighbours don`t see me doing my
funny walk!
Have you started receiving seed catalogues through the post yet? The
Thompson and Morgan 2004 collection looks better than ever with some stunning new and
exclusive plants.. Have a look at their website and order your copy now www.thompson-morgan.com I find that flower seeds
are received well as Christmas presents for a fellow gardening enthusiast..
Some of your
recent gardening queries
Jobs for the month - October (Last
`jobs`section until February)
The vegetable patch
 A tidying up month for vegetable gardeners. Finish
lifting and storing all root crops. If you have any salad crops left in the ground,
protect them with fleece or cloches. Have you thought about growing some windowsill herbs
for use in the winter months? They are freely available in supermarkets now and bring a
little of the outdoors in to your kitchen.. It is so nice too, to cook with fresh herbs.
Lawns
 Continue mowing the lawn, with the cutting blade
raised, when conditions allow. It could take some lawns a while to recover from the recent
drought and regain their lush green appearance. If we have some rain it would be a good
time for an autumn `weed and feed` this month. Sort out any bumps and hollows in your
lawn.
Shrubs and flower borders
Continue removing flowers that are passed their best, at the same time
saving any seed that you want. Some people like to leave the dead foliage in borders as a
haven for insects and a micro-climate to protect against the frost, but I like to tidy up
borders in the Autumn. I have so many evergreens and bright coloured barks that an unkempt
border would spoil the effect for me. If you want to divide any perennials, this is a good
time.
Wildlife
As for September...It is time to clean up those bird
feeders that will do such a good job over the coming months and fill them with
peanuts. If you are making heaps of leaves and twiggy stuff ready for a bonfire, do
have a check that a hedgehog is not sheltering there before you strike a light. This very
often does happen unfortunately...
Ponds and water features
If your
fish appear not to be hungry, stop feeding them now, until Spring. Continue removing any
dead or dying foliage from the water plants, rather than letting it die down naturally and
polluting the water..
House
plants
Make sure
your houseplants are all healthy and living in the correct aspect of the house for their
best health during the winter months. Not many plants will want to live in a dark, cold
draughty corner. Don`t overwater as this will rot many plants.
Weeding
Continue as for previous months preventing all those minute weeds from
taking over with a light hoeing....
Laterlife is pleased to support the project below:-
| http://beehive.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/sensorygarden
Designed to stimulate the senses and provide a
haven of peace, a place to chill-out and unwind from the stress of modern living. A garden
designed specifically to be "Positive About Disabled People" and raise funds for
people with Multiple Sclerosis.
Take a
virtual trip around the garden, through different countries, its monthly photo galleries
& artwork, explore and discover the plants, birds and wildlife, water features and
wind-chimes, as we endeavour to describe the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch of
the various areas.
We hope you enjoy your visit to the Sensory
Garden Project
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And 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/
Tel: 020 8332 5655 (24 hr)
Fax: 020 8332 5197Royal Botanic Gardens
Kew
Richmond
Surrey
TW9 3AB |
Tel: 01444 894066 (24 hr)
Fax: 01444 894069 Royal Botanic Gardens
Wakehurst Place
Ardingly
Nr Haywards Heath
West Sussex
RH17 6TN |
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...
Keep the e-mails with
your gardening problems coming
Have a look at previous
editions of Gardener`s Diary
Some websites of interest to gardeners:-
www.alantitchmarsh.co.uk
Alan Titchmarsh MBE, TV gardener, writer, broadcaster and thoroughly nice person.
Just a few choice words to describe the peoples` favourite TV gardener. See his
website....
 Thompson and Morgan:
A growing
resource for gardeners worldwide. The site includes the international online seed
catalogues, the young plants catalogue (UK only), the wholesale seeds catalogue, together
with the award winning Germination Times and a host of other useful information.
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..
Good 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
RHS Garden Finder is £12.99 from Dorling
Kindersley www.dk.com
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