JOBS TO DO IN AUTUMN 2

Margaret McGinley presents Theresa Crossan with the Best Garden award

Margaret McGinley presenting prizes to Suzi McElroy (left) and Hugh and Rosallen Henderson (right

I was down at the Swilly Gardening club’s monthly meeting this week. I have been taking pictures of interesting plants and gardens all year so Colm Grant and I could run a slide show and talk a bit about all things horticultural. I think it went pretty well. We weren’t heckled and unlike before when I spoke about garden design for three hours solid, no one appeared to fall asleep. There was a presentation on the night too for the winners of the Best Garden Competition. Also on the night was a prize for the best pumpkin. It has been a great year for growing peas and beans, as they love water. Not so good for pumpkins I am afraid. So much so that we couldn’t get anyone to own up to growing the runner up pumpkin to claim a prize! (It was beautifully formed but rather on the small side!)

Here are some of the jobs to do this month

JOBS TO DO IN AUTUMN

Plant spring bulbs. Daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, irises, fritillaries and small bulbs in rock gardens can all be planted now.

Sow lawn seed. It’s not too late if it isn’t too wet.

Dahlias. The dahlias are flowering a lot longer into the season than previous years. They are usually blackened by the frosts by now but most of them are still producing flowers. Deadhead them until they are killed off then dig them up and cut the stems down to about 10 cm (4 inches) Stand them upside down to drain.

Shredding. At this time of year the garden can produce a real excess of waste. Shredding the larger materials in the garden and mulching with it under the shrubs if by far the best thing that you can do with your autumn clearout materials. The smaller bits can go straight into the compost bin.

Evergreen Pots. Empty the summer bedding pots into the compost and get a new selection of plants to give colour through the winter. Use one or two small evergreen plants such as euonymus or small conifers for the centre and fill around them with seasonal bedding like winter flowering pansies.

Photo: Theresa Crossan receives first prize from Margaret McGinley at the Swilly gardening club this week.







Horticultural.