As little bit of TLC in the garden
Gardens start to look a little unloved by this time of year, but with a little TLC you can keep them looking good for a few more weeks.
Start with your hanging baskets – keep feeding, watering and dead-heading through to the middle of autumn and they’ll keep going. Eventually they will be past their best and at that stage you can replant with plants for winter and spring – look for winter heathers, ivies, spring flowering bulbs and plants.
Dead-heading plants such as roses, delphiniums and dahlias will encourage them to keep flowering too, but as perennials fade and die down, keep cutting them back. Any tired-looking perennials can be divided now to help revive them – and give you extra plants!
Fruit fest
You should be harvesting plenty of pears and apples now – if apples have fallen on the ground then it’s probably time to pick – but have a taste just to make sure! You can also pick medlars and quince now – so get ready to start storing, or making jams, jellies and other culinary delights. Wall-trained fan trees should have their shoots tied in now, and you can also be ordering strawberry runners for winter delivery, and well as new fruit canes, bushes and trees.
Get your lawn in shape
The lawns at RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Essex are admired by all their visitors. If you’d like to get some top tips from the experts who keep those lawns looking lush, then go along to the Lawn Care Question Time on 17 September from 11am to 12.30pm when you can quiz their experts.
Find out more about carnivorous plants
If you are fascinated by Venus flytraps and other carnivorous plants, here’s your chance to learn more about them. This morning workshop at RHS Garden Harlow Carr is led by Peter from Wacks Wicked plants and will detail their habitats and their trapping mechanisms. The workshop also includes the chance to create a miniature bog garden, which includes three carnivorous plants. £40 for members, £48 for non-members.
Listen to the latest RHS podcast
Listen to our latest podcast, where we offer seasonal information, you can hear tips on growing fruit and veg, and get up-to-the-minute help and advice.
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