GARDEN NOTES

garden notes News, products and advice for the new season

PLANT IT NOW Uncinia rubra ‘Everflame’

The flower garden may be fading, but ornamental grasses and sedges will carry on looking fabulous right through until late winter. Uncinia rubra ‘Everflame’ is a striking cultivar, ideal for containers, whose vibrant reddish leaves look positively stunning in low autumn light. You can find Uncinia amongst the excellent range of ornamental grasses at Braithwaites in Leeming Bar (braithwaitesnursery.co.uk).

INSIDE

INFORMATION

Herbs like mint and chives die back in autumn if left outside, so why not pot them up and grow them indoors for use during winter? Lop back most of the top growth, divide clumps and pot the divisions. Accustom them to indoor life by putting them in a cool room. When new leaves sprout, transfer to a sunny windowsill.

TURF LOVE

Autumn is the best time to tidy a threadbare lawn. Use a lawn rake to pull out the ‘thatch’ (old stems and moss), then aerate your turf by spiking it with a fork or lawn spiker. Top dress with a mix of sand, loam and leaf mould, filling any dips as you go, then clip the edges. Job done!

Rake-it science

For clearing fallen leaves from awkward spots between plants, you can’t beat a shrub rake like this handy example from Burgon & Ball (burgonandball.com). Don’t waste the leaves you collect by burning them or putting them in the green bin. Use them to make leaf mould – it’s an invaluable soil improver.

Apple pie order

To store apples over winter, carefully inspect them and set aside damaged specimens for immediate use. Wrap each sound apple in newspaper and arrange in a box or basket. Store in a frost-free garage, shed or basement. Check regularly for spoilage, removing any rotten apples before they spoil the rest.

SEASONAL SENSATION

Actaea simplex (Atropurpurea Group)

With its fragrant, creamy, delicately scented flower spikes set against dark purple foliage, Actaea simplex makes a dramatic showing from late summer through into autumn. For best results plant in moist soil in partial shade – midday sun can scorch the leaves. In a few years it will bulk up into a clump a metre or more high. Keep well watered, and deadhead regularly.

Makes sense to fence

Autumn is the perfect time for outdoor DIY projects, and new fencing can transform a garden, defining your boundaries and creating an attractive backdrop for landscaping and plantings. Fall Timber at Leeming Bar Industrial Estate stocks a comprehensive range of traditional post-and-rail fencing, hazel hurdles, fence panels and boards, along with stylish field and driveway gates. Find out more at falltimber.co.uk Iris reticulata is a small but stunning earlyflowering iris whose zingy yellow and cobalt blue blooms will enliven your borders from late winter onwards – and now’s the time to plant it. Choose a welldrained sunny spot and plant the rhizomes 8–10cm deep and 10–15cm apart, pointed ends upwards.

Rhubarb, rhubarb

Enliven flagging rhubarb plants by dividing clumps in November. Each division will grow with renewed vigour, ensuring a bumper crop next spring. Use a sharp spade to split clumps. Replant the divisions 3–5cm below soil level to encourage them to produce the maximum number of new shoots.

BRIGHT IDEA

With electricity bills sky high, solar-powered lighting is the sensible way to brighten up your garden on autumn evenings. This trendy solar lantern from Garden Trading (gardentrading. co.uk) has three dimmer settings, enabling you to create just the right mood for outdoor gatherings.

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