Gardeners do spend a lot of time talking about the weather and this year they have had good reason to do so. It has been a very difficult year and many plants have suffered. Now is the time to prepare for the cooler months ahead. The greenhouse will need to be disinfected with Jeyes Fluid and, if it can be completely emptied of plants, a Sulphur Candle is the best way these days to remove all pests and diseases. Tender plants such as fuchsias and geraniums will need to be dug up and taken inside to over-winter where it is frost free. Do make sure that the heater is working and it is a good idea to line the shed or greenhouse with bubble plastic which should raise the temperature by at least 5 degrees. Tubers of dahlias and cannas will need to be lifted as soon as the plants die down. In the kitchen garden it is time to harvest the remaining potatoes and root crops. There is still time to sow a few more radishes and lettuce and to plant the special early onion sets. Next month broad beans can be sown. Digging should be well under way now especially if the soil is heavy, working in farmyard manure. Night frosts do a lot of good to heavy clay soils provided they are well dug.
Apples and pears should be harvested as soon as possible and, if not already done, grease bands should be applied to the trunks of fruit trees. Rose bushes should be given another spray of Roseclear, plus a feed of Toprose. Hedges will need a light trim. Lawns should  be cut regularly until they stop growing and now is the time to rake, aerate and scarify and to add an autumn fertilizer which is low in nitrogen.
Now is bulb planting time and there is a good selection of hyacinths, daffodils, tulips and crocus in the garden centre. Miniature bulbs such as scillas, chionodoxa, aconites, irises and dwarf tulips are ideal for adding spring colour to sink gardens and rock gardens. October is a good time to plant up the tubs and containers with primroses, pansies, violas and small cyclamen. A visit to the garden centre will give ideas for planting up winter hanging baskets which should be done soon now. Wallflowers, Canterbury bells, sweet williams and forget-me-nots are planted this month too. This is a good time to plant herbaceous perennials, shrubs and climbers. This is also the best time to sow sweet peas for planting out early in the spring. As a break from all the garden chores this month, do try to visit a garden such as Wisley, the Savile Gardens at Windsor or, further afield, the Westonbirt Arboretum. The trees and shrubs in these gardens should be displaying their very special autumn colour very soon.
Terry Simmonds