September

As the summer winds down to Autumn, it is time to clean up the garden and plan for next spring.

Water trees and shrubs less, allowing them to harden off before winter sets in. Remove spent annuals and compost them. Keep after the weeds and the slugs!

Even though Summer draws to a close, it does not mean that you cannot still enjoy your garden.

Many Septembers can be warm – especially during the day, however if you start to feel the cold at night – you can retreat to garden structures such as Gazeboes’ etc. 

This is your last chance to soak up the sun before the leaves start to fell from the trees and the kids go back to school.

Handy Gardening Tips:

• Plant new perennials, trees and shrubs
• Plant spring-flowering bulbs
• Prune climbing roses once they have finished flowering
• Divide overgrown perennials
• Reduce ventilation in greenhouses
• Cover or net ponds to keep leaves out
• Check external lighting as darker evenings approach
• Extend your outdoor time by moving furniture to a sheltered spot

Handy tips for the Lawn

• When the Autumn rains arrive, fertilize your lawn with a slow-release 3-1-2 ratio fertilizer
• September is one of the best months of the entire year for seeding or sodding new lawns
• If the lawn needs thatching, it can be done during the early Autumn
• Over seed old lawns with fresh seed to help fill in the bare spots and crowd out weeds and mosses
• The Autumn cut should be a quarter of an inch above the Summer cut
• Use lawn sand to prevent worms
• Don’t forget to scarify