And so October is here. Thirty short days remain to us until Hallowe'en, and by then we'll all be getting thoroughly accustomed to knowing where our gloves and scarves are at all times. At this time of year, some garden maintenance is needed to clear away the dead tissue of summer, and leave your garden looking neat and trim for the winter days to come. Don't be too harsh on your little patch, though -- sometimes there's a greater natural beauty in letting decay take its course.
This is the time of year when roses and other flowering shrubs really start to show the weight which they've put on over the cool, damp summer. Trim those shrubs back, removing old and damaged growths with a trusty pair of secateurs. Don't ruin your shrubs -- you don't want to be looking at skeletons all winter -- but give them a good healthy trim so that they have the space which they need to flourisgh again next year.
The first frosts of the year will soon be upon us too, so if you have any much-loved plants which are vulnerable to a touch of cold, it's a good time to move them carefully under cover. You don't want your tender blooms getting frostbite!
And finally , don't forget (if you even could!) that the days are getting shorter now. So don't count on having as much time to potter around the garden as you did all summer -- soon you may only have the weekend when there's any daylight in which to garden, so as annoying as it is, you may have to get those tedious pruning and weeding jobs out of the way sooner rather than later....
