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October Gardening Advice
1 October 2022

As we wave summer goodbye and say hello to autumn, it's not all doom and gloom as autumn is a wonderful time for gardens and with the change of seasons comes new opportunities and plans. So brush off that winter wardrobe and start to prepare yourself and your gardens for the upcoming colder months. It’s time to finish off those late summer jobs and start preparing for the hardships ahead, so here’s our list of gardening jobs so you can keep on top of your garden and welcome winter with open arms. Also it’s the month of the witches so make sure you're preparing for Halloween!

Planting & Pruning

Root ball hedging becomes available this month and there’s still time to pre-order bare roots, ready to plant next month – both of these root types are a great cost-effective option if you’ve got a big planting project in mind. Now is the time to cut back any perennials that have started to die down.

If the weather is fairly mild this month, you can still trim your deciduous hedges to make sure they look neat and tidy over winter. If you start to notice suckers at the base of ornamental trees, remove these now, tearing away the shoot rather than cutting them.

Autumn soil is warm and moist providing the ideal conditions for planting, so get your container grown shrubs in the ground now. With any newly planted hedges such as Beech, Hornbeam and Privet, if you start to notice any weak specimens, cut these back to about 20cm to encourage strong new growth and the hedge to fill out around the base. If you want to introduce some colour into your garden that will last throughout the winter, plant a Skimmia Japonica shrub now. The polished foliage and glowing red and pink buds will add interest right through until spring when white flowers will appear.

Think about planting spring bulbs now for a colourful display next year. If you plant in clumps and repeat bulbs of the same species throughout the border, you should be rewarded with an impressive spectacle come spring.

Wildlife 

All kinds of wildlife are preoccupied with preparing for the cold weather, so why not give them a helping hand.

  • Clean bird boxes, fill up your feeders and keep bird baths topped up with water.
  • Check for bird nests before trimming your hedge!
  • Rake leaves and fallen debris but leave a patch for insects to gather for birds to feed on and to gather nesting essentials.
  • Leave kitten biscuits (where meat is listed as the main ingredient, not cereal) out for hedgehogs. Leave these at a hedgehog friendly feeding station so cats don’t get to them first. Simply upturn a plastic box and cut a tunnel entrance on the side.

Fruit Trees

We have an exciting range of fruit trees which are now available to order! All our trees are suitable for the UK climate and are ideal for all gardens, if you’ve got a smaller garden these trees can be left in pots, or they can be planted and allowed to grow to their full height. Fruit trees are not only great for us but perfect for wildlife too! With the beautiful flowers that come out during spring and summer, they are a great addition to any garden. 

Any ideas of your own? Let us know! Tweet us @best4hedging or let us know on Facebook.