by Jenny Huddart
I think we can now safely say that all hope of a last minute ‘Indian Summer’ has passed. The arrival of September, with yet more rain, and even the threat of frost one week, means that summer is now well and truly over!
Jobs in the garden in September began with us taking our pelargonium cuttings before we tucked our ‘Mother Plants’ up for the winter. It was also the time to take cuttings from our perennials. The main reason we do this is for these cutting to be used as a backup should we lose the main plants due to a hard winter. This works particularly well in the case of perennials such as salvias who really don’t enjoy a cold wet weather.
It was also time for us to prune in the vegetable garden. The summer fruiting raspberries had their fruited stems cut out and this year’s growth tied on to the support wires to keep our raspberry canes healthy, strong and productive. The strawberries in the Melon House also had a tidy up as we removed their runners, potting up any strong runners. These new plants will then be used as infills next year if any gaps appear amongst the main plants
September is the time to sow hardy annuals. In the flower garden we have sown Malope trifoda ‘Alba’ and ‘Vulcan, Agrostemma ‘Ocean Pearl’, Antirrhinum ‘Madame Butterfly’, Ammi Majus, Orlaya and Larkspur, including ‘Misty Lavender’, all of which are always popular with florists. We have also sown Cerinthe and Bupleurum using our own saved seeds from the garden. By sowing these fresh seed, we hope to guarantee higher rates of germination, resulting in full beds of these beautiful annuals next years.
Late summer is a good time to sow any overwintering crops for the vegetable garden. We have sown several crops which will be housed both outside, in the case of our Chicories ‘Rosa’ and ‘Orchidea Rossa’, and in the protection of our glasshouses for our ‘cut and come again’ Mustard and Mizuna salad leaves, soft herbs such as Parsley and Chervil and Florence Fennel ‘Sweet Florence’. All providing fresh ingredients for the kitchen throughout the colder months.
September may have been a changeable month, but in the garden, we have used these periods of torrential downpours to our advantage. We have made sure to use this time to stop and plan for next year - the planting plan for the flower garden is close to being finalised; research on next year’s garden projects have also started, with us looking at ways to improve our compost/feed areas and new plans for new fruit trees to train along the walls of the fourth quadrant underway.
Always looking ahead, but at the same time remembering to appreciate what we have achieved already.