The past months of drought has been quite devastating for a number of gardens, so I have included a section on plants that I have seen to do well this year.
I have listed the usual tasks for September below: the truth is, the weather is probably not cool enough and the ground not wet enough yet to merit undertaking many of them. Wait until the end of the month would be my advice.
As autumn is the best time of year for planting because the soil is still warm and the rains have usually come, it is worth reflecting on what the new reality of hot summers and wet winters means to us.
I have certainly had to have a rethink of planting plans I put together in the spring. With another wet winter likely to be on its way, followed by extreme and prolonged drought, you don’t have to look far to see what is happening to our plants.
The best way to work out what is best for your garden is to look around and see what has perished and what has survived. For example, around where I live we have dense, silty/clayey, poorly drained soil over a well-drained, quite deep subsoil. The pH is slightly acidic.
Different soils have different requirements. Please….know your soil, it’s pH and it’s capacity for drainage before heading off to the garden centre!!!
The following have survived much better in full sun than I thought they would:
TREES
Amelanchier
Crataegus
Prunus
Pyrus
Olea
SHRUBS
Abelia
Deutzia
Lavendula
Perovskia
Potentilla
Pinus Mugo
Rosemarinus (esp. ‘Prostratus’)
Pittisporum 'Golf Ball'
GRASSES
Calamagrostis
Miscanthus
Seslaria ' Summer Skies' / 'Autumnalis'
HERBACEOUS
Baptisia australis
Bergenia
Calamintha nepeta sp nepeta
Euphobia 'Humpty Dumpty'
Geranium Mavis Simpson (semi-shade best)
Nepeta
Oreganum 'Kent Beauty'
Sedum
Symphytum
Verbena 'Lollipop'
Remember: Establishing plants with the help of irrigation in the first few years may be needed. Using the smaller varieties of the below helps too due to smaller leaf surface area from which to loose moisture.
So, tasks to do when the weather turns cooler and the moisture levels rise are:
• Plan, buy and plant spring flowering bulbs such as daffodil, crocus and iris over the next couple of months. Leave the Tulips until November – unless we get another drought or Indian summer. In which case, delay them all by several weeks!
• Mow your wildflower areas and be sure to rake up all the cuttings: this will help reduce the nitrogen level and so encourage flowering rather than green growth.
• Beech and hornbeam can be given a light trim to keep them neat throughout the winter. As semi-evergreens they provide useful screening
• Deadheading will still produce results, especially with Dahlias that can look good until the first frosts.
• Be selective when cutting back your herbaceous plants: many of them will provide seeds for wildlife as well as being attractive in the winter frosts and sunlight
• Raking out the thatch from your lawn (scarifying) and using a fork or an aerator to spike your lawn will improve drainage and the quality of your lawn. Where there are bare patches, sowing seed over spread topsoil when the weather gets cooler and feeding the lawn in spring will give a fresh, green appearance.
• Divide herbaceous perennials that have become too big for their spot: it is remarkable how many plants can be teased out of one large clump. Be generous and give some of it away: you are very likely to have the compliment returned.
• If you have a pond near a tree, it is worth placing a net over the water to catch the leaves when they descend in autumn
• Eke out the last colour in your pots and hanging baskets by trimming off the dead growth and feeding with liquid fertiliser.
All the above could be overwhelming: however, it is an opportunity to introduce interesting new species and varieties.
I am told that the Chinese word for “crisis” is the same as “opportunity”.
I like that.