This Month Our regular guide to people gardens, events, news, tasks and nature.

OCTOBER People to Meet

Introducing the gardeners and public figures we most admire in British horticulture

Raymond Evison

The nurseryman and passionate plant hunter breeds clematis at his Guernsey nursery and is exhibiting at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show

I left school at 15, after my headmaster said: “Evison, staying on is a waste of time.” My father was manager of what was then Treasures of Tenbury, a nursery with a fouracre garden at Burford House. I began edging the lawn there, which let me observe plants at di erent times of the year.

Plantsman Percy Picton got me excited about clematis. He invited me to join him at Chelsea when I was a teenager, and after the show he would tell me about his work at Gravetye Manor and the clematis hybrids coming in from France. Slowly, I took over clematis at Treasures, and by 23 I was managing director. In the harsh winter of 1981, when Shropshire temperatures fell to -26°C, we lost a third of our plants, prompting me to move the clematis business over to Guernsey.

I began a joint breeding programme with Mogens Oleson of Poulsen Roser A/S in Denmark. We predicted that by 2000 people would have smaller gardens and spend less time gardening, so we bred compact clematis with a longer fl owering time. I have now bred over 150 new varieties. From pollination to market takes 8–10 years, and longer still for the plant to be accepted by the industry and then the public. It’s hard to name a favourite, but ‘Corinne’ is one. This strong, multifl owering plant has white blooms with pale pink stripes.

I love to hunt for plants. My fi rst expedition was to China in 1981 and last April we formed a joint venture with Beijing Florascape to develop new clematis hybrids with plants from Guernsey and the wilds of China. It’s amazing to have this chance at 77, and I can’t wait to join the team there. In the meantime, I’ve set up a unit in the nursery for native plants with my friend Chris Chatfi eld. We’ve raised 700 plants from seed, many of which are considered rare in the British Isles. We hope to save many special Guernsey plants from extinction.

The postponed Chelsea Flower Show this year will let us show o around 50 di erent repeat fl owerers. The recent heatwave has accelerated the growth of many of our plants, so fi ngers crossed we’ll be able to manage the timings! raymondevisonclematis.com

RECOMMENDED

Raymond’s favourite gardens

Hidcote Manor

Gloucestershire Hidcote has inspired me since I was a young man. I used to visit it with my parents. It has several old Clematis viticella cultivars, some of which were almost lost to cultivation. Tel: 01386 438333; nationaltrust.org.uk

Spetchley Park Gardens

Worcester Spetchley is full of rare and unusual varieties, including some of the earliest plants that came into cultivation. I love searching for plants in the wild and this is a fascinating garden from a plant point of view. Tel: 01905 345106; spetchleygardens.co.uk spetchleygardens.co.uk

OCTOBER Out & About

Unmissable events, news and the very best gardens to visit this month

Gardening for a healthier climate

The IPCC Climate Change 2021 report is a sobering reminder of the impact of climate change on our planet, but scientists say catastrophe can be avoided if the world acts fast. Responding to the report, Professor Alistair Griffiths of the RHS urges UK gardeners to adopt greener gardening practices. “Plots and even pots can make a difference through delivering services previously provided by the natural environment, such as reducing water run-off and minimising flooding, drawing and storing carbon from the atmosphere and helping to shade and cool urban areas.”

RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show

18 September-3 October, London The Royal Horticultural Society has partnered with the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea to present an exhibition of botanical art and photography that will run in tandem with this year’s autumn Chelsea Flower Show. The show features more than 200 pieces by 34 global artists, and all of the intricate illustrations and garden photographs on display will be judged by an expert panel to compete for RHS medals in Gold, Silver Gilt, Silver and Bronze. Adults from £5; children free. saatchigallery.com

Roots to Seeds at the Bodleian

Until 24 October, Oxford Marking the 400th anniversary of the foundation of Oxford Botanic Garden in 1621, this exhibition examines the history of botanical research and teaching at Oxford while celebrating the beauty of plants. Prepare to admire 17th-century herbals, elegant garden plans and botanical illustrations, while looking into the future of plant science, with contributions from current students. Tickets: Free. visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk

NGS Garden

The Watergardens

17 October, London Planted by the Veitch family in the 1860s, these enchanting Japanese landscaped gardens were originally part of Coombe Wood Nursery. Explore nine acres with ponds, streams and waterfalls, as well as many rare trees that provide stunning autumn colour. A must-see garden for treelovers. Adults £5; Children free. The Watergardens, Warren Road, Kingstonupon-Thames, Greater London, KT2 7LF. ngs.org.uk

OCTOBER

Things to Do

Keep up to date in the garden with our monthly guide to key gardening tasks from Troy Scott Smith, head gardener at Iford Manor

PRUNE & order fruit trees

We will soon be pruning the fruit trees in the orchard at Iford Manor. It was the last day of September when we harvested the apples to be used in the making of our Iford Cider, and by now most of the leaves have dropped.

This is also a good time to think about ordering new fruit trees for winter planting. Buy them as no more than a single stem, called a whip. Plant your young fruit whip in its permanent position as soon as you can after delivery or collection. If you are unable to do this, you can keep it in a cold but frost-free garage for a short period – remember that you shouldn’t plant when the soil is frozen or waterlogged.

I love damsons and in the west, ‘Shropshire Prune’ is a good variety. If you’re further north, go for ‘Westmorland’. When it comes to choosing apples, I like to go for varieties local to where you garden: ‘Beauty of Bath’ is obviously a good choice for Iford. Iford Manor, Iford, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire BA15 2BA. Tel: 01225 863146; ifordmanor. co.uk. Follow Troy on Instagram: @troyscottsmith1

Local fruit tree varieties to try

Damson ‘Westmorland’ Relatively small but delicious fruits and white blossom on a tree suited to northern climes.

Apple ‘Beauty of Bath’ These attractive, sharp-tasting fruits ripen from mid-July in southern England.

Damson ‘Shropshire Prune’ Very astringent but delicious when cooked, this variety likes the wet climate of the west.

October checklist Reinvigorate lawns and tidy up perennial borders

Care for the lawn

Although it would be desirable to wait until the garden closes at the end of September, autumn work on the lawn must begin before then. If we wait any later than mid-September the soil temperature is too low for regrowth.

The first task is to remove the buildup of dead grass that lies in the sward, also called thatch. Its removal will reinvigorate the grass and minimise the risk of fungal disease in warm and damp conditions. We have large areas of lawns at Iford, so we use a mechanical rake or scarifier, but on a smaller scale a metal tined rake will do just as well. Once the thatch has been raked out from the sward, it needs to be collected. To do this we use plastic rakes, wooden clapboards and sheets – if it is dry the thatch will be very light and will rake up more effectively.

The next task is to improve surface aeration and drainage. We use a mechanical spiker, but on a domestic scale a border fork will be just as effective (right). Push the fork down 6cm and wiggle it about, then repeat this action moving backwards at 15cm intervals across the entire lawn. Creating these slots lets in air, relieving compaction and improving drainage. Every three years (do it more regularly if you garden on badly drained clay soil), we use the same machine, but fitted with hollow tines. Instead of just making a slot, cores of soil are pulled out. These need to be picked up and then the holes are filled by brushing in a top dressing of sharp sand.

On areas of bare lawn we sprinkle old potting compost mixed with grass seed onto the surface. We brush this in with a stiff birch besom so that some of the seed is worked into the soil’s surface. Finally, we apply an autumn fertiliser that’s high in potash to stimulate new root growth.

Clear borders of old growth

As the exuberance of summer melts away, it is the bones of the garden laid out by Edwardian architect Harold Peto that begin to reveal themselves. Vistas open up and the sharp lines of Harold’s design are once more etched into the garden.

Autumn is really the start of the gardening year and, if the weather allows, many of the enduring tasks of the season can be achieved before the first frosts and the worst of the winter weather arrive.

The clearing of last season’s growth should be completed before any new shoots begin to emerge. Sometimes the spent flowers, foliage and stems can simply be snapped off – this works well with phlox for example. For others, secateurs are essential. We always begin with clearing our hemerocallis, since they quickly turn to a slimy mush with the first frosts. The last of the perennials to be cut down should be the grasses, and this is only done when new growth is starting to push through in spring.

OCTOBER Nature to Note

The wonder of wildlife in the garden and countryside this month

Two HOOTS

The British Isles are currently home to fi ve species of owl: barn, tawny, long-eared, short-eared and little. Of these, the tawny owl is by far the most vociferous and during the months of October and November its hoots ring out across the night skies. Listen out for the female’s shriek of ‘keewick’ and the male’s wavering call. Put together, the two produce the classic ‘to-whit, to-whoo’ call, immortalised by Shakespeare in Love’s Labour’s Lost.

Tawny owl pairs usually hold onto the same territory for life. They make such a racket in autumn because this is when the young birds are reaching maturity and seeking out new homes of their own. This causes a drastic change in the dynamics between parents and young, as the adults who were once so protective fi ght to hold onto their established patches with piercing cries and aggression.

FIELD MAPLE (Acer campestre)

How to identify it This compact tree has small leaves comprised of fi ve lobes and rounded teeth. Dark green and shiny in summer, they turn a rich gold in autumn, before falling o their long stems and leaving behind only the knobbled grey leaf buds. The fi eld maple grows up to 20m tall and its bark is light and fl aky, taking on a corky appearance with age. Where to find it The UK’s only native maple is planted widely across the country in gardens and parks as well as the wilder habitats of woods, scrub and hedgerow.

Value to wildlife

Valuable to wildlife large and small, the fi eld maple is attractive to aphids, ladybirds, hoverfl ies and birds. Several species of moth, including the mocha and the maple prominent, feed on the tree’s leaves, while its fl owers provide nectar and pollen for pollinators and its fruits are enjoyed by small mammals. Did you know? In the 17th-century, the herbalist Nicholas Culpeper recommended the leaves and bark of maple trees for strengthening the liver. The connotations of the tree in Victorian times were not quite so a rmative: in the language of fl owers, a maple branch included in a bouquet represents the sender’s reservations.

WILDLIFE NEWS

Green Light

Rare forester moth resurfaces

A recent sighting of the nationally rare forester moth in Hertfordshire has paused plans to build warehouses in the area. The sighting of this beautiful iridescent green moth was the fi rst in the county for 45 years, and the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust is urging the local council to rethink the construction project. construction project.