Colour your life in October

Autumn colours are slowly starting to dominate, and the garden is preparing for the winter. Now is natures best time for planting – so perfect for putting in new plants or trees.  Do you have you a suitable spot for winter-flowering plants that you can see clearly from the house? Then how about something like a witch hazel or a flowering cherry. And if you have a balcony instead of a garden, winter jasmine is ideal. Place the bush in a spacious pot or tub and give it some support - it will do the rest.

Colourful boost

• Don’t let your garden be dull in October!  There’s some gorgeous plants and shrubs in the most fantastic colours available.
• How about flowering naked ladies, Sedum and autumn chrysanthemums?
• Some plants stand out because of their foliage, others have magnificent flowers or colourful ornamental fruit.
• All kinds of holly, crab-apple, snowberry and spindle tree varieties can give your garden a colourful boost in the autumn.

Taking root

Plant your trees, shrubs and perennials now - that will give them ample opportunity to take root before winter sets in. This will give them a growth advantage over their peers that are not planted until the spring.

You can also plant bulbs now. What about establishing an autumn tradition and getting the whole family into the garden for a bulb planting day?  Set them to work with a basket of bulbs and a trowel - then all you have to do is look forward to next spring.