Welcome to the month of transition for our gardens. October is a delight – particularly for gardening! See the incoming vibrant shades of autumn as we tumble towards the annual winter slumber. If you’re looking for fascination in the garden, then this is the ideal time to spend outdoors.
But, don’t put those gardening tools away just yet! There are a number of crucial tasks you should have on your radar as we enter the 10th month of 2025. Make sure your garden is looking good and thriving next spring by putting in some effort now.
Autumn Displays – Plant Pots and Baskets
Winter will very nearly be upon us, so if you haven’t already prepped festive garden displays, then now is the time to do it.
Starting off with winter baskets and pots, put together a beautiful design that will add colour to those long, dark days – think about pansies, cyclamen, polyanthus and violas, all of which are reliable varieties ready to impress, and don’t need much attention!
In the Kitchen Garden
This is one of the months many associate with harvest. So, if you still have some potatoes in the ground, then now is really the last chance to pull them up, before they start to rot and become completely unusable.
Split clumps of rhubarb by lifting with a spade and dividing the pieces, ensuring each retains at least one healthy bud. Then plant roughly 1m apart with the bud just peering above the soil level.
With Christmas on the horizon, you do not want to risk anything happening to those all-important sprouts, so remove yellowing leaves to improve air circulation.
Tidy your blackberries by cutting back any stems that carried fruit this year and finish by tying in any new canes.
To control any peach leaf curl disease on apricots, spray the trees with a copper-based fungicide.
If you have already picked fruit and vegetables from your garden and stored them away somewhere dry and cool for future use, be sure to check them every so often, removing any soft or visibly mouldy pieces to prevent rot from spreading.
Leafy Business!
There are sure-fire ways to know the seasons are changing, from the shortening of days to the consistent dreary weather. Our favourite indication comes from taking a glance at the trees around us – what an extraordinary flurry of colour!
Very soon luscious green will become a thing of the past as yellows and reds take over leaves, before falling.
Make sure to remove any fallen leaves from around your plants, but place those discarded to one side in bags or liners, as they will become very handy mulch by next year.
Trees and Shrubs
Autumn is an excellent time to prune most deciduous trees.
This is now a ‘quiet’ period for trees, as leaves have been lost, offering you ample time to remove dead, diseased or dying branches. Roses will also need some attention now, so remove any fallen leaves from the bases, in order to prevent fungal disease spores and lower the risk of blackspot.
To protect newly planted evergreens from wind scorch, surround them with a temporary windbreak, made with tree stakes and strong netting material.
Lawn Care
Replace heavily worn areas of lawn by purchasing rolls of turf and spending a bit of time laying it.
Prepare the ground first after lifting the old turf by digging and levelling with a rake, removing any stones or debris as you go. Firm up the ground with the back of a rake, then unroll the fresh turf on top ensuring the edges touch.
Tap the lapping edges once with the rake so it binds with the soil beneath and creates a seamless natural carpet.
Finally, now is the time to grow even more plants using those existing species that call your garden home.
Take cuttings from hardwood species, such as dogwoods, willows or blackcurrants, by making a 15cm long slanted cut above the bud, or a straight cut below.
This can then be planted in the ground at half the piece’s length (7.5cm), or into pots using a grit-based compost.
