大象传媒

Most of us are looking at our borders now and thinking, it looks to good to take out all these colourfull bedding plants. I know, because so many of you have been telling me this and , quite rightly you want to get as much colour from your summer bedding as you can. And I for one don't blame you. But be warned, it will only take a slight drop in nightime temperatures to wipe the lot out and when you see them next morning the sight will be a depressing one. My advise is to get cracking now and clear those borders and head straight for the garden centre where you will find some great winter colour to replace all those sad looking summer bedding plants. Do it now and your borders will look a picture, wait and they will look a mess.

The days are getting shorter and the trees are now losing their leaves, in fact the very large Crimson King Maple in my garden is shedding leaves so quickly now I can hardly keep up with them as they need to be cleared and onto the compost heap as soon as I can get around to doing it.

PLANT OF THE WEEK: Yucca Filamentosa can be a bit spitefull with it's sharp leaf ends but boy is it tough. It will survive the worst of the winter frosts and will be get even tougher as the years go on and the plant reaches a good height. Grown mainly as a focal plant and for it's sweetly scented creamy white flowers in winter this dramatic plant will grace any border or large container. I think they look fantastic just growing from the lawn, though be carefull don't get spiked when you get close. I love them and if you have enough room, then get one. It may look like the one indoors but it's a diffrent character all together.

TOPICAL TIPS:

1: Do clear up the leaves as soon as you can. The Thames Valley has a bad reputation for mossy lawns, and leaving debries on the lawn especially leaves will only encourage moss growth. Put the leaves in plastic bags or on the compost heap and you will have great laef mould to use in the spring. Better still, put through a shredder the leaves will make a great mulch straight on the borders but rember to add a little slow release granular fertilizer to keep the nutrient level up in the soil.

2: Clear away all old pots and seed trays from the greenhouse because Mice and other rodents will be looking for winter shelter now and will build their nests where they can out of the cold. It's fine to provide a new home for our furry little friends but they repay us by eating stored seeds and plant material.

3: Dahlia's should be cut back to about 4 inches from the soil once the frosts have killed off the foliage. If you want to lift them and store in a cool frost free place then that's fine. I prefer to leave them where they are to preserve the root system and also to cut down the task of lifting and then finding a storage space. What I do is to simply cover them with a good mound of compost or leaf mould and let them take their chance through the winter, The strong ones will survive and the weak ones will not make it. Horticultural natural selection I guess.

Happy Gardening