Gardening Tasks for September

If you felt that this British summer was hotter than usual you’d be correct! Provisional figures from the Met Office suggest that we’ve had the hottest summer since records began. And this year it follows the warmest spring. One of the driest on record too, certainly in England.

The knock on effect is showing in many a garden, where flowering plants have ‘gone over’ sooner than usual. Edibles that cropped earlier in the season, such as strawberries have generally done very well. But those that we harvest later – runner beans, brassicas, apples – have been showing signs of stress. Yes, I know many orchard trees are covered in fruit – I’ve been climbing up friends plum trees to help harvest them! But the combination of little rain and consistently warm temperatures prevents many crops from taking nutrients from the soil.

Certainly for next year, I’m looking at ways of increasing shade for many plants that ‘like full sun’.

3 Gardening Tasks for September

Floral September

Keep deadheading Dahlias, Helianthus, Rudbeckia and other late flowering plants for plenty of colour up until the first frosts. Not only will they give you colourful autumn borders, but they make good cut flowers for the house too.

Autumn planting

Autumn is still a good time to plant herbaceous perennials in the flower border. However, it’s important to soak the plant in its pot beforehand. It’s also vital, given the weather conditions over this spring and summer, to make sure the border soil is in ‘good heart’. For example, unless the whole area has recently had new good quality soil added, dig a bigger hole than is needed, lightly fork the sides, add compost or soil improver and mix in with the soil. Then plant your new plant/s.

I would generally use a watering can rather than a hosepipe for watering in a few plants. However, remember that even in a hosepipe ban area, you’re generally allowed to water newly planted herbaceous perennials, shrubs and trees for up to 28 days after planting.(But check your water company’s restrictions first)..

Spring flowering bulbs

Planning ahead to your spring garden – spring flowering bulbs are planted in the autumn. We have tips for planting spring flowering bulbs for you and there are helpful guides to help you decide which Daffodil Tulip and Dahlia are the right ones for you and your garden style.

Of course, rock-hard ground really will be an issue with planting the Daffodils and Tulips. Rather than struggle with a pick axe (!) in autumn, plant the bulbs in pots instead. If you prefer spring flowering bulbs growing in the borders, you should be able to transfer them – pot and all for ease – into the ground when the soil softens up with winter rain.

Gardening Tasks for September – Things to watch for in your garden

Do not be disheartened if your apples have dark spots. This is bitter pit and is a disorder not a disease, caused by lack of calcium and especially common in warm dry weather. The apples are still edible, peel them and, as Bramley apples are particularly prone, if it’s a culinary variety, add homey or sugar when you cool them. NB bitter pit may noy develop until the apples are stored – another reason for the weekly check over winter!

Apples and pears may be infected with scab disease. Again, these should be edible once peeled, but I wouldn’t store them.

summerhouse, lawn, tables and chairs, plants in pots, marie's garden, ©️Julie Skelton

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

A small orchard of fruit trees is a possibility for many of us. When you’re short on space, stepover fruit trees around the vegetable beds are both decorative and practical. And if you’re very much in the ideas and planning stages of adding fruit trees, now is the perfect time to visit gardens with orchards! For tips, read How to Choose Apple Varieties to Grow in Your Garden or Orchard

And there are plenty of 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?!

There are plenty of Gardening Visits to look at in Plews Potting Shed blog if you need ideas of where to go – arranged geographically for your convenience 😉

We all like having a nosey around someone else’s garden… so, if you can’t make it to the Workshops, you can still follow Marie’s garden and its renovation on Instagram or Facebook It’ll be at least a year before she can open her garden but you can watch the progress until then!

See our @plewsgd Instagram and Facebook page for tips, pics, gardening inspo.

Marie Shallcross, garden designer, Plews, at Chelsea flower show

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 October)

Recent blogs include 17 Herbs for Summer Drinks, Bokashi Composting, Types of Dahlia – Glorious Blooms, How to get Front Garden Kerb Appeal 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!

NB there is still a delay with the newsletter as its taking longer to implement the new system as we still have issues with the updated website. But we’ll get there! We’ll be sending out another ‘test run’ to a few of you this month

flowers called elizabeth printables product image, marie shallcross, garden writer, plews garden design

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, Flowers called Elizabeth comes complete with a planting list and link to the blog for extra info.