Fifth edition - September 2001.
This month I have looked in depth at
some basic garden tools
Where did the summer go? Here we are in September
already, with the nights rapidly closing in, and there are already signs in the garden of
the approaching Autumn. The weather is still unsettled, but August did recover to give
us some really hot days, however, like people, the garden doesn`t really have time to get
acclimatised to the warm weather before it`s back to the cold, wind and rain again. Such
is the nature of our fickle climate...
Well my loan puppy has long since been reunited with
his own family, and of course we did get a new doggy companion for Penny,
our dog, as she so loved having a playmate. Our new edition is a little female black
labrador called Inca. (Unintentionally, they are Pen and Ink if their names are
shortened ! )
Having two female dogs whose urine burns brown
circles in the grass could be a problem, but I have trained Penny to use a gravelled
corner of the garden for all her toilet needs, and will do the same with the new pup. This
also serves to keep the garden free of mess for us and visitors. Not a nice subject I
know, but worth mentioning.....
Don`t forget to take some time out to visit a garden show or two while
the weather is still reasonable, especially on the 18th and 19th September, which is the
RHS Great Autumn Show, Royal Horticultural Halls, Greycoat Street, London SW1
Or go to their website for a diary of all other events
at:- http://www.rhs.org.uk
Jobs for the month - September
A mellow month
hopefully, and the time when those of us who have fruit and vegetable gardens can reap the
rewards of our labour....
Houseplants
Reduction in the watering and feeding rates should now begin gradually
until the winter minimum is reached. Give the leaves of houseplants a misting with tepid
water to clean them, and use a special houseplant leafshine for plants such as rubber
plants and swiss cheese plants.
Bulbs.
Bulbs
are starting to come into the garden centres at this time of year, and September is the
main month for planting them, with the exception of tulips which wait until October. If
you are not planting bulbs straight away, store them in a dry, dark place with plenty of
ventilation, using paper bags not polythene..
Lawns
Now
is the time of year to raise the blade of your mower and rake the lawn to remove excess
debris, and runners of creeping weeds. Apply an autumn fertiliser which you will find in
abundance at your local DIY store. Read instructions carefully if you have animals or
children.
 Greenhouse
This
month I usually fill the greenhouse with cuttings of plants such as shrubby salvias,
artemisia, sage, hebes, pelargoniums and anything else I may lose through
frost over winter. I keep the greenhouse doors open, and shade the cuttings from the
sun until the weather turns damper and cooler, then transfer them into the conservatory
before the first frosts, to be overwintered.
Hedges
Complete
the annual cutting of older hedges of all types. Towards the end of September is a good
time to plant evergreen hedging shrubs and conifers but the site may be prepared now with
lots of compost added.
 Fruit
and vegetables
Prepare
the ground for autumn fruit bush planting and make sure to harvest any produce in the
vegetable garden before the birds and rabbits get it.
Flowers
for cutting
Keep
cutting flowers for the house and at the same time dead-head any faded blooms.
Chrysanthemums are delightful this month as are dahlias which together with some greenery
will give you a good floral display for indoors.
Herbaceous
plants
Take
time to dead-head any flowers that have faded, and cut down any plants that are finished
for the year. At the end of this month any bedding plants left in the borders should be
removed to the compost heap and replaced with biennials such as wallflowers, sweet william
and stocks.
 Ponds
and water features
Clear
your pond of any decaying vegetation and cover the pool with netting to prevent falling
leaves from going into the water. Reduce the quantity of fish food you give your pond
fish. You will see that as the weather cools and the days shorten they will want to feed
less and less. By the end of October they will have stopped feeding altogether for the
duration of the winter. Depending on the weather, water features can be left going until
the end of October.
Wildlife
Give
bird feeders a good clean, by knocking out any congealed peanuts, and washing in a mild
disinfectant. From now until the spring months make sure you always have a constant supply
of bird food available to attract a wide variety of birds to your garden. They will also
come to rely on you for food so do keep them topped up in all weather..
In
the next four editions of Gardener`s Diary, I will be generalizing about gardening
and giving you seasonal ideas. This will take us through till February, at which time I
will resume the "Jobs for the month" and "Spotlight" sections...
Some seasonal web sites of interest to gardeners:
 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
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.
Caution
is still the order of the day for the countryside..
If you are visiting a National Trust garden or any other garden or
event, do check that they are not closed due to Foot and Mouth disease. More and more
footpaths and other venues are being opened but, for general advice and up-to-date details
of restrictions, look up the website for the appropriate local authority who will have
information about closures. Alternatively look at the following websites: www.nationaltrust.org.uk and www.maff.gov.uk who will have Foot and Mouth
up-dates.
Have
a look at previous editions of
Gardener`s Diary
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