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Here is our monthly round-up of news, tips and ideas to make the most of your garden this September!
September is the month where the transition into autumn officially begins – the perfect time for making the most of home-grown fruits and vegetables, and for putting firepits and chimeneas to good use to enjoy the last al fresco evenings of the season!
This month is also ideal for tackling gardening jobs that could save you some time for the arrival of spring next year.
Keep your garden looking and performing its best with these important tasks:
• Preserve your timber – Think about preserving and protecting timber buildings, fencing and furniture with a fresh coat of preservative.
• Plant spring flowering bulbs – Tulips, daffodils and all other spring flowering bulbs can be planted in September and all the way through to November.
• Tidy up strawberry plants – Cut off the old leaves, leaving just the youngest in the middle. Weed the plant, looking specifically for fruit debris, which can harbour fungal disease spores and damage the next year’s crop.
• Divide and replant herbaceous perennials – Division of plants is most successful when the plants have stopped flowering and are not in active growth.
• Stop feeding container perennials – To discourage weak growth, cease feeding any perennials you are growing in containers.
• Save bean seeds for sowing – Leave French Bean pods on the plants until they go brown and dry, and then cut them off. Open the pods to inspect the beans – store the good beans in an envelope until next spring.
• Cover late vegetable crops – Use cloches or horticultural fleece to cover late crops of vegetables, such as carrots and salads.
• Pot up herbs – Put herbs like basil, coriander, and parsley into pots to bring under cover.
• Plant wildflowers – September is the perfect time to sow and plant wildflowers, which benefit the larval stages of many pollinators.
• Remove dead leaves – Use a rake to keep borders and lawns free of dead leaves. Collect them to create leaf mould.
Visit one of our centres to pick up essential gardening tools!
The Woodland Trust’s annual vote to crown the UK’s Tree of The Year has officially begun!
This year’s contest is a celebration of breathtaking oaks from across the UK, each with their own fascinating history – magnificent natural monuments that play an integral role in our nation’s story.
The winning oak will represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year competition!
Find out more and cast your vote here.
• Turnips – If sown in September, turnips will mature quickly – perfect if you want a crop to grow in time for Christmas.
• Onions – Seeds planted in autumn will throw out an early crop next year – get a head start so you can hit the ground running in spring!
• Peas – Make sure you pick a hardy winter variety like ‘Meteor’ if you want to sow peas in September, to ensure they survive the cold.
• Radish – There is still time to get a radish crop this year, as they will grow within a few weeks of being planted.
September is a great time to start stocking up on firewood now that chillier weather is on the horizon, both our centres stock ready to burn, kiln-dried firewood logs all year round – but where do you store your logs?
Why not invest in one of our premium log stores?
Using outdoor log and firewood storage to age your firewood reduces water content, which is vital for an efficient and clean-burning stove or fire. Our Heritage, Midgley and Wortley firewood storage options are stylish additions to any outdoor space and provide an attractive way of letting the ageing and drying processes take place naturally.
Our log stores are essential for anyone wishing to store large amounts of firewood, and are available in a range of stock sizes, with larger bespoke sizes available to be built to order.
Visit us in-store to view our entire range of outdoor log storage options.
Many garden flowers produce no nectar or pollen whatsoever, making it difficult for pollinators to get the nutrients that they need.
This month is an ideal time to plant wildflowers so that they will be well-established by next spring. Here are some ideas for what to plant depending on the space and conditions available.
• Cornflower – Bees love blue flowers, so the annual Cornflower is a staple!
• Common teasel – This biennial plant provides seeds that goldfinches feed on throughout autumn and winter.
• Sea holly – This spiny-leaved perennial is a pollinator favourite.
• Red campion – An important flower for day butterflies, bees and flower flies.
• Tufted vetch – A firm favourite of bumblebees, who are happy to venture into dappled shade.
• Meadow cranesbill – A deep violet blue flower, which is a caterpillar food plant of the Brown Argus butterfly.
• Dropwort – An adaptable plant, but best suited to dry grassland.
• Ox-eye daisy – This vibrant plant attracts various pollinating insects, predominantly beetles, hoverflies and caterpillars.
• Red clover – Produces an abundance of nectar for many long-tongued bumblebees and rare species of bumblebees such as the great yellow bumblebee.
• Dandelion – Rich in both pollen and nectar, each bright yellow head contains around 100 individual flowers.
Visit us in-store to browse our selection of garden landscaping essentials!
Fruits for crumbles, jams, preserves and winter tipples!
• Apples & pears
• Quinces, medlars
• Plums, damsons
• Autumn raspberries
• Perpetual strawberries
• Figs
Vegetables for salads, soups and pickles.
• Tomatoes
• Salad crops
• French & runner beans
• Courgettes, cucumbers
• Peppers
• Sweetcorn
• Onions & shallots
• Marrows, pumpkins & squashes
• Globe artichokes
Jams With a Twist by Kylee Newton
Why settle for the same old jams when you could try something deliciously different? Jams With a Twist will take your jam making to a whole new level.
Available from Amazon here.
“Happily we bask in this warm September sun, which illuminates all creatures.”
– Henry David Thoreau
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