Gardening Tips for October 

October is a month of change in the garden, with cooler nights, shorter days and the first signs of autumn well under way. It is an excellent time to tidy borders, prepare soil and protect plants before winter arrives. Clear fallen leaves from lawns, paths and ponds regularly, but keep healthy leaves for making leaf mould or adding to the compost heap. Lift and divide overcrowded herbaceous perennials, then replant them in well-prepared soil while it is still warm enough for roots to establish.

Cut back faded perennials if you prefer a neat appearance, although leaving some seedheads can provide valuable food and shelter for wildlife. Plant spring-flowering bulbs, such as daffodils, crocuses, alliums and hyacinths, in borders, pots or naturalised areas of lawn; tulips are often best planted later in autumn or November to reduce the risk of disease. October is also a good month for planting hardy trees, shrubs, hedging and bare-root plants when they become available, as autumn rain helps them settle in. Remove summer bedding from containers and replace it with winter-flowering pansies, violas, cyclamen, ornamental cabbage or evergreen foliage. In the vegetable garden, harvest remaining apples, pears, squashes, beans and root crops, storing only sound, undamaged produce in a cool, frost-free place. Sow broad beans and hardy peas in mild areas for an early crop next year, or cover empty beds with compost, well-rotted manure or green manure to protect and improve the soil. Bring tender plants such as pelargoniums, fuchsias, citrus and salvias indoors or into a frost-free greenhouse before the first frost, and raise pots on feet to prevent waterlogging. Finally, clean tools, greenhouse glass and pots, check stakes and ties on young trees, and give the lawn a final light cut on a dry day if growth continues. A little preparation in October will make the garden healthier, tidier and easier to manage when spring returns.

o harvest crops, prepare beds for the months ahead and make a start on next year’s displays. Harvest apples, pears, plums, beans, courgettes, tomatoes and sweetcorn as they ripen; pick regularly to encourage plants to keep producing.