The Garden in Autumn - 2015

As the weather turns colder, plants will slow down. Take out any tender bedding and replace with winter bedding. Other hardy bedding should last until the first frosts. Clear fallen leaves from beds and lawns and compost. Put them in a plastic bag, pierce a few holes in it and by next you should have valuable leaf mould. Raise permanent containers off the ground to aid drainage, and wrap tender ones in bubble wrap or fleece. Perennials can be cut back and split up now. Discard the older central part and plant out the fresher outside growths. Some light pruning can be carried out - mainly just to keep larger shrubs in shape. Those that you normally prune in spring, eg roses and buddleia, can be cut back by a third to prevent them loosening their roots in the wind, before the main pruning next year. You can also prune late-summer flowering clematis - cut back to about 1m high to remove long, old growth and encourage strong flowering shoots. Bare rooted plants - normally cheaper than container grown - can be planted now. Finally, while its quiet and not much growth about, check all fences, supports, tools etc and clean/sharpen/paint them.