THE GO-LIGHTLY GARDENER, LATE SUMMER INTO AUTUMN
There is something about the approach of Autumn which makes the heart sing – The food and flowers – copious amounts of tomatoes and dahlias and if you are a gardener the promise of the spring crop and the forward bulb planting which will take place within the next few months.
I cannot believe that we are already talking about the late summer garden … yet here we are in the final weeks of summer and wondering where it all went ! There is nowhere more evident of this than in the garden. It appears that those lazy hazy days of summer and the blooming blooms of June and July are fading fast along with the light !!
We have had a variable September this year and the Pembrokeshire storms have not helped either. Do not let this discourage you from continuing with deadheading as it is likely that with a little patience and hopefully some late summer sunshine you can procure a second flourish and there are always the late summer perennials to bring colour into the garden.
First up --- hydrangeas – yes … these are again our fail-safe plants, they are impactful, colourful and grow large, large, large … therefore it’s wise to invest in a few of these to dot around as they are perennial and the spent mop heads make for delightful winter arrangements. They come in lovely shades of purple, lilac, blue, white, pale pink, fuchsia and green. Can be grown in borders or containers.
Next up …Asters. These are also perennial and will look as though they are not going to do anything, then lo and behold in late summer, early autumn they suddenly burst into life with beautiful small star like flowers. Known as the Michaelmas Daisy because they are usually in full bloom around that day which is – September 29th.
Echinacea … hardy perennials that bloom annually from mid-summer into Autumn, with deadheading encouraging further flowering, also good for pollinators.
Use winter pansies and violas in containers along with heathers and cyclamen. These, together with variegated foliage such as Coleus give a very pleasing aesthetic.
There are many annual summer flowers that will keep going until the first frost if they are fed and dead-headed regularly … once a week will give them the nutrients, they need to establish more flowers. Begonias and Impatiens, New Guinea Impatiens (Bizzie Lizzie) are among some such flowers. Cosmos will also keep going with buds appearing all the time but MUST be deadheaded and picked daily to encourage this.
Lavender is just about in its prime now and is a favourite with the bees and butterflies, but some will be losing their colour, you could trim it now to keep it bushy and compact. Wait until autumn before culling to just above the brown wood which will appear at the stem.
Now --- what about tomatoes …...!!
I bought four small tomato plants at a garden centre and planted two each in medium sized flowerpots and just left them outside to do what they will.
Now as avid tomato growers already know, these take quite a while to produce, so I basically forgot about them. In June I inspected the plants and was delighted to see that little tomatoes were appearing throughout the plants. These gathered apace and I am pleased to share with you that from these four tiny little plants, I have had a yield of about 30 to 40 tomatoes, however the tomato season is coming to an end now, the fading light prevents them ripening as well as in July and August. To prolong the ripening season, cut off the yellowing and dried up stems and also side stems with no growth upon them. This will ensure that whatever energy the plant has left will go in to tomatoes it already bears, and you may get another crop out of the plant.
The garden is probably in need of a bit of tidying up and removing spent plants. This ensures that everything is as healthy as it can be for the next spring season. It’s also a suitable time to start planning how you would like your garden to look next Spring.
We will be thinking about planting the spring bulbs soon, so as well as our daffodils, tulips and alliums, don’t forget to sow your flower seeds for colour in your garden next year. Wildflowers, Sweet Peas, Nigella and Cornflower are some good ones to sow over the coming months. A short piece on bulb planting will appear in October.
TIPS OF THE DAY:
Keep the lawns mowed even though the growing is starting to slow down…. Not only will this help the grass to keep weeds at bay and promotes healthy growth (unless you are aiming for a wildflower patch), but somehow everything else in the garden looks ‘in its place’ and more attractive and tidier when the lawn is freshly mowed.
Leave about three centimetres of grass length, as if the lawn is cut too short, there is less leaf area to take in oxygen and sunlight, slowing root development and the blade could also damage to the crowns of the grass plants.
Happy gardening !
