Early October gardens still have a feeling of lushness about them that slowly changes as the daylight hours shorten. We see flower borders full of late flowering perennials slowly turn to seed; and orchards full of fruit give way to trees covered with brightly coloured foliage.
October is a very dramatic month in the garden. Mild days entice us to linger in a sunny spot of a walled garden to enjoy the show. Cold, wet and windy days make us reach for a jumper and wellies and wonder if it will be easier or more difficult to collect up the leaves now they’re wet…
3 Gardening Tasks for October
A bit of a tidy up in the garden is a good idea at the beginning of the month. The days are still warm enough for you to empty the greenhouse and potting shed. Oh yes, and tidy the heaps of pots that have been sitting in a corner since you last went to the garden centre.
Growing bulbs for Christmas – Hyacinths, Hippeastrum and even Daffodils can all be forced to flower at Christmas. Colourful, scented flowers to decorate your home or to give as presents. We have tips on how to do it and suggestions for some flowering bulbs to try.
Pumpkins may be traditional for Halloween but winter squash have far more to offer than that. Winter squash store well in a cool shed or pantry. Small varieties such as ‘sweet dumpling’ that can be grown up a trellis when space is really tight, enabling many of us to enjoy growing our own pumpkins and eating them throughout the winter. And as for Halloween giving me ideas to inspire both your ornamental borders and your kitchen gardens click the links!
Gardening Tasks for October – – Things to watch for in your garden
Weeding, deadheading and pruning your flower borders and vegetable garden as you gather in your harvested crops also counts as tidying up. The removal of foliage that may have grey mould or powdery mildew stops the spread to other garden plants. Diseased leaves should be composted in a hot bin only, or burnt or put in the council green waste bins. Non diseased deciduous leaves can be left as a mulch on the borders where they’ll slowly rot down.
Gardening Workshops in Marie’s Garden
Small group workshops so you get plenty of attention. There are a range of topics, some seasonal, but for example: –
- Free Plants – How & When to Divide Herbaceous Perennials
- Seed Saving 101: Collecting & Storing Seeds from Your Garden
- How to Prune – tips and practical teaching
See Plews Gardening Workshops for more details or head to Eventbrite to book your place
With a mix of practical, hands on demonstration and guided practice, you’ll go home with more gardening knowledge and something to grow on in your own garden.
Prices from £30 – £53 depending on length & materials provided, includes tea / coffee on arrival & Eventbrite booking fee. There are also Earlybird offers
Location is Biggin Hill / Westerham (just inside M25). NB there are steps as the garden is on a hill
Gardens to visit this month
I always feel that the choice of garden to visit on October depends on when in the month you’re planning to visit. The south west of England and the Channel Islands and the north west of Scotland especially have much to offer in the way of mid-autumn colour from both flowers and foliage.
Why not try visit Armadale Castle , a lovely garden in Skye and admire the white stemmed Himalayan birch contrasting with the autumnal foliage?
And there are still beautiful autumn gardens open, including some Yellow Book scheme gardens. I love the National Garden Scheme, where you can enjoy mooching round smaller gardens as well as large, eat cake, perhaps buy plants and donate to charity. What other reasons do you need to visit?!
Garden Talks
Are you the person who organises talks for your local gardening club, WI, U3A, history society, or general club?
Have a look at the Talks page to see if Marie’s wide ranging garden related topics might interest you and your members. Recent ones given include Planting for Shady Front Gardens Trees for Small Gardens, and Record keeping – how necessary is it for most gardeners?
Attending one of Marie’s gardening talks is more than just sitting in a chair and being spoken to. It’s a learning experience and an inspirational journey. She brings her vast knowledge to life with captivating stories, simple explanations and demonstrations.
Would you like more gardening tips, garden design ideas and seasonal gardens to visit?
Why not check out our gardening blog articles on a range of topics in Plews Potting Shed ?
Marie’s writing has achieved Plews Potting Shed’s standing as it’s in the Top Ten Garden Design blogs and Top Thirty Gardening blogs by Feedspot and she was shortlisted in the 2021 prestigious Garden Media Guild Awards. (Fingers crossed for this year’s submission, we’ll find out in late October)
Recent blogs include Bought More Plants than You Meant? Help is Here! ( Tips for when you overindulge at the garden centre) Michaelmas Daisies and the Aster name change, Is ivy a weed or a wildlife haven? A wide range of topics so theres sure to be one that appeals to you!
“interesting even if you have no intention of picking up a spade”
Thanks Tim, who is a regular reader if a reluctant gardener!
Gardening printables for you
A range of free downloadable and printable PDFs on seasonal gardening, garden history snippets, vegetable gardening, garden design, themed planting lists for inspiration, garden planning, record keeping for you and your garden. For example, Plants for Chalk Soil comes complete with a planting list and link to the blog for extra info.
Plews Gardening eBooks for You
Available to purchase from Plews (via PayPal); safe download directly from the website and also from Amazon and Kindle library.
It’s the time of year when many gardeners think about composting (must be all those fallen leaves!) Why not treat yourself to Marie’s “Compost and Composting” eBook?
This composting book is for those gardeners who: –
- have tried to compost in the past to feel re-assured that they can still succeed
- would like to have a go at composting in their garden but are not sure where to start
Witty, entertaining and informative”
Amazon review
And remember – Plews Gardening Gift Vouchers are available all year for all our services and products.
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