Page 20 - HGS Suburb News 151 - Autumn 2022

S U B U R B

THE GARDEN GIRL
Full

Circle Miscanthus grass

Although September may
afraid! So, it’s time to lift and
I’m often asked if cutting back
divide: cut back top growth, dig shrubs at the wrong time will herald the autumn, there is still
CAROLINE BROOME up the whole clump, chop it in half cause death by dangerous pruning. plenty of opportunity to enliven
or quarter and replant the newest Although unlikely, there are a few your gardens and extend the
o here we are again, bits from the outside of the clump. good reasons why not to prune flowering season until the first
approaching autumn, and No need to be delicate, I use a certain shrubs at this time of year. frosts. Autumn plant fairs
S a full year has turned since saw! Suburb favourite, sedum There is the chance that early frosts proliferate in September,
I started guiding you towards spectabile Autumn Joy, tends to could polish them off, reason being including RHS Wisley, 6 -11 Sept.
creating your ideal garden. Your die off in the middle creating a that pruning encourages soft, new www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/
borders have revealed themselves donut effect, so cut away the old growth, which is susceptible to RHS-Garden-Wisley-Flower-Show.
to you through each season. You middle bit and compost it, and freezing temperatures. Most Rudbeckias, heleniums,
can reflect upon your successes replant with newer outside pieces. obvious victims of the secateurs ornamental grasses, knifophias,
and your failures: I hesitate to use Textbooks will tell you that early would be winter and early spring will provide a welcome boost to
the word failures, because an flowering perennials such as flowering shrubs, such as camelia your borders. And don’t forget
GARDENING
experiment that doesn’t produce pulmonaria and hardy geraniums or hamamelis, which will be coming there are still Open Gardens to
the desired effect is just a are best divided in autumn, into bud now; prune these now visit through the National Garden
steppingstone towards a more whereas those that flower from and you prune off next season’s Scheme www.ngs.org.uk if you
appropriate solution. July onwards are better left until flowers. Likewise, leave shrubs need some inspiration. Moving
If, like me, you’ve turned a spring. Why? Because late that produce berries, such as into October and November,
blind eye to some spectacular bloomers, such as eryngium and cotoneaster and pyracantha, for there is perhaps one of the
howlers in your borders, then rudbeckia, often flower well into winter colour and essential food highlights of the gardening year:
autumn is the ideal time to rectify October, but it doesn’t have to be for birds in the cold months ahead. Autumn Colour. Westonbirt
them. One disadvantage of a a hard and fast rule. In theory you should have pruned Arboretum has the most dazzling
happy perennial is that it will On the subject of cutting early blooming shrubs directly displays of acers and other
expand after about three years, back, some people like me, prefer after they finished flowering but stunners. www.forestryengland.uk/
often swamping less robust to cut back perennials throughout hey, life often gets in the way! If westonbirt-the-national-arboretum.
neighbours: sanguisorba Lilac autumn and early winter, leaving such a shrub really has outgrown And as the weather starts to turn,
Photos: Squirrel, veronicastrum, thalictrum more sparse borders than those its space by the autumn, then it’s why not take in a lecture or
Caroline Broome or meadow rue, be afraid, be very who prefer to wait until spring. a judgement call, compromises perhaps attend a workshop. Beth
Arguments for autumn clearance? are reached, berries or flowers can Chatto’s garden, Elmstead Market
Less hiding places for pests such be sacrificed for one year. The in Essex, has an interesting
as slugs, less chance of spreading textbooks tell you not to prune programme:www.bethchatto.co.uk
diseases like black spot, less work dogwoods now, as their coloured /shop-by-other/courses/.
to do in spring. On the other hand, stems adorn the bare winter But whatever you do, make the
leaving architectural perennials borders, but I see no harm in most of the autumn, it’s a long
like phlomis and eryngium, will trimming wayward stems to shape. winter ahead.
create a striking landscape, quite
magical on a frosty morning.
Overwintering top growth provides
shelter for garden friends such as
frogs and hedgehogs and provides
seeds for the birds. Be aware that
some grasses, especially
pennisetum, and tender perennials,
like shrubby salvias and
penstemons, are best left intact
until spring, to protect their
vulnerable crowns. If you’re
feeling guilty because a tidy
garden is considered to be un-pc
in the environmental stakes,
compromises can be made: there
is always a sheltered corner of
Trebah your garden where nothing much
grows so why not create a log pile
with your offcuts as shelter for
Four Seasons hedgehogs and toads.
Ornamental grasses, like coppery
miscanthus, often look their best
GARDEN MAINTENANCE against the winter backdrop, but
come December can often
r Weekly or fortnightly maintenance contract r Garden clearance collapse, their flower heads flying
r Lawn care (mowing, turfing, fertilisation etc.) r Planting all over the garden, so don’t be
r Weed killing & treatment r Hedge trimming, tree works afraid to cut them down mid-
r Patio cleaning r All general garden services winter. It’s worth considering that
We offer a professional, reliable service with 16 years of the earlier in autumn you lift and
experience at an affordable price. Call Roland or leave a message divide, the more opportunity the
for a free quote.
roots have to re-establish before
r 07584 574520 r fourseasonsgarden@hotmail.com the cold weather. Otherwise, the My favourite Rudbeckias
decision is yours.
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