As days get shorter and cooler, Benjamin loves to pair richly coloured foliage with blue and grey tones, and starts to look forward to spring by adding bulbs to borders and meadows
October is a month of change, as summer departs to make way for autumn. Deciduous plants respond to cooler evening temperatures and shortening days by preparing for leaf fall, reducing the green pigment of chlorophyll in their leaves to reveal a blaze of yellow and orange carotenoids and red anthocyanins. I love to see the changing colours both in the garden and wider landscape, and despite the premature leaf drop this year (due to drought stress) there is still much to enjoy. Among the first to change for us are the acers. Acer japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’ and A. griseum are my favourites, along with the vibrant Koelreuteria paniculata ‘Coral Sun’. Cercidiphyllum japonicum turns a golden buttery yellow with peachy tones, as does its darker-leaved cultivar ‘Rotfuchs’, both earning the common name candyfloss tree, as the leaves fall with a sweet toffee-apple aroma following a frost.
Shrubs and herbaceous perennials also have something to offer, dark-leaved cotinus and physocarpus enliven with scarlet tints while dogwoods and witch hazels turn shades of honey. With the abundant array of warm colours, now is a time when blue and grey tones really stand out. Pairing Amsonia tabernaemontana with Ceratostigma willmottianum will give you canary-yellow foliage and blue flowers, add to this a winter-stemmed dogwood or Russian sage and you will be sure to continue the interest as the leaves fall.
My other love at this time of year is ornamental grasses, which work well with late herbaceous perennials, such as Symphyotrichum lateriflorum ‘Prince’. I find molinias very useful as their basal foliage remains low and tidy while the flower stems reach out to create a transparent veil. That said, Panicum virgatum and some Miscanthus cultivars, such as ‘Ghana’ and ‘Ferner Osten’, turn brilliant shades of red and orange, though I couldn’t be without the gold tassels of Miscanthus nepalensis.
Along with flowers and colour, grasses add texture and movement, which help to elevate a border or container scheme, so are always worth considering. Looking around the garden there’s lots to distract the eye and mind, but thankfully maintenance tasks are less time critical now as winter approaches.
What to sow and plant
Autumn is the perfect time for planting, with moisture and warmth in the soil to promote root growth. Container-grown plants, including trees, shrubs, roses and herbaceous perennials, can be planted now, before bareroot season begins. I also plant out any biennials, such as sweet Williams and verbascums, though if small I’ll postpone planting until early spring.
Now is also a good time to add bulbs to borders and meadows. I like to set them out in small, empty pots or old bulb nets, easily arranging them to my desired design before spreading and planting individually as loose swathes. This also helps to avoid any camouflaged individuals going unplanted.
Lifting and dividing can take place now, though of course this will involve cutting back your plants first, so I tend to leave this until spring, enjoying the winter seedheads. Early October is when I sow most hardy annuals, along with my first sowing of early sweet peas and additional winter salad leaves including chervil, pak choi, pea shoots and rocket. I also dig up some coriander, parsley and mint, so that
I can grow them in pots indoors.
What to harvest and pick
Autumn is a time full of harvest with top fruit falling from the trees. Ideally, store in a refrigerator, but somewhere cool, dry and free from rodents will help. With our glut of apples, I make curried chutney or juice them, but it’s worth experimenting a little; crab apple jelly, hawthorn ketchup and rosehip syrup all have subtle flavours and are packed with vitamin C.
As days shorten the final ripening of fruit and vegetables becomes important; stripping leaves from tomato plants and placing winter squashes and pumpkins in the open allows as much sun as possible to sweeten and cure the fruits. In the cutting beds, dahlias and zinnias still amaze, I love pairing the giant Dahlia ‘Otto’s Thrill’ with the demure D. ‘Paradise City’, using Symphyotrichum cordifolium ‘Elegans’ as a pale-blue filler. Autumn is also a great time to make a wreath. Woven sticks with bracken and autumn foliage make a great base, while rosehips, horse chestnut casings and dried flowers (harvested earlier in summer) make good details.
Benjamin’s Gardens Illustrated Masterclass: Grow a year-round, productive garden is available at gardensillustrated.com
Garden jobs for October
Collect leaf mould
As leaves fall, collect them from paths, drives, lawns and gravel areas, storing in a pile or pen (easily made from canes and chicken wire) out of the way, where they will reward you with the most delicious leaf mould next summer – great as a potting compost or soil improver.
Mulch vegetable beds
As potatoes, onions and other vegetables are harvested, prepare empty vegetable beds by applying a layer of compost or rotten manure as a mulch. This will cover and protect the soil during winter, adding nutrients as it breaks down.
Protect tender plants
As the temperatures cool, bring in container-grown houseplants and tender species or alternatively protect larger permanent plants with fleece, straw, bracken or mulch.
Prune rambling roses
If not already done, shorten old flowering stems to strong buds and tie in any new long growth to prevent wind damage during the months to come.
Plant containers for winter
Plan and source plants for winter container schemes using bedding, bulbs, grasses and young shrubs, so as summer flowers fade you are ready to plant for the next season.