Carex Hahijoenis Evergold

GARDEN LOVE FOR SEPTEMBER
By James The Gardener

Now is the time to make the most of the last few days of summer. September is usually seen as the beginning of autumn, however if you're lucky you can catch the last of the warm sunny days to appreciate the rich colour in your garden.

Many late flowering plants are at their best now and removing faded flowers will keep many of them going until the first frost. Some plants have seed-heads, which provide food for hungry birds in winter, so you may want to leave these until spring before cutting back.

Dig up and divide established perennial clumps that have finished flowering to space them out around your garden. Cut down faded flower stems from earlier flowering varieties such as Hostas and Delphiniums but leave the foliage at the base, as it can look attractive for several weeks yet.

The ground can be prepared now for planting soft-fruit, such as gooseberries, blackberries, raspberries and blackcurrants (for picking next year). They grow much better when the ground has been well weeded and prepared at least a month in advance of when you wish to plant. Dig a trench and enrich the soil with compost or well-rotted manure, fork this in and fill in the trench. When you come to planting in November spread a general-purpose granular fertiliser over the ground.

Cordyline australis sundance