GARDENING

This month – Tidy up Time

By October the garden can look a little tired: perennials collapse, leaves die back, and there’s debris everywhere. It can only mean one thing, clean up time. Cut Peonies, Leucanthemum, Nepeta, Delphiniums, Hardy Geraniums, and Phlox back to ground level, but leave anything with ornamental seed heads such as poppies, Alliums, and grasses. When the first frosts hit these plants will gain a new lease of life and add some sparkly architectural beauty to the garden.

FREE OF CHARGE PUBLICITY FOR SMALL, LOCAL CLUBS, GROUPS & SOCIETIES.

Leave more delicate perennials such as Penstemons with the top growth in place to provide some winter protection. You can cut them back in the spring just before new growth occurs. Herbaceous perennials can be divided now and moved around to fill gaps in the border. Perennials can become congested and tired, and flower less as they age. Dig up the clump and break it up with a sharp spade, selecting the best, newer chunks from the outside to replant. The dying centre of the plant can be composted. Most plants need to be divided every three to five years but some more vigorous varieties like Achillea require it more often and others. The exception is Peonies, which hate any kind of disturbance. Leave them alone. Once the borders are cleared and plants have been relocated, it’s time to get rid of any weeds, which have flourished in the autumn sunshine. Then you can mulch using compost or leaf mould. Mulching helps to protect the more tender plants while improving the structure of the soil and generally making things look neater. Make a layer around 3-4cms deep but don’t cover the centre crown of any plants. Types of organic mulch: Compost Bark Grass cuttings Composted manure Newspaper Shredded Leaves Straw

By Rachael Leverton

LocalReach Community Magazines provide FREE OF CHARGE publicity for your local events. The ROYAL MAIL delivers 17,978 copies each month to all of BS23. As you can imagine we ARE inundated each month so we try to limit the wording to 50100 words. Plus you can send a good quality photo &/or logo. So if you are organising a cake sale, jumble sale, garden fete or similar, we would like to hear from you. Email your event details for inclusion in our Whats On pages to our community editor sarah@localreach.co.uk before 1st of each month. Top 10 jobs this month:

1 Divide established rhubarb crowns to create new plants 2 Cut back perennials that have died down 3 Divide herbaceous perennials 4 Move tender plants, including aquatic ones, into a greenhouse or conservatory 5 Plant out spring cabbages 6 Harvest apples, pears, grapes and nuts 7 Prune climbing roses 8 Finish collecting seeds from the garden to sow next year 9 Last chance to mow lawns and trim hedges in mild areas 10 Renovate old lawns or create new grass areas by laying turf

ColourFence is becoming increasingly popular across the UK with homeowners fed up of losing their garden fences to winter storms and the hassle of replacing them. Equally, timber fences decay rapidly and require regular treatment with paint and chemical cleaners. Unlike standard timber fences, ColourFence is designed to resist harsh weather conditions and will withstand wind gusts of up to 130mph! The weatherproof and durable ColourFence range has a number of core benefits that appeal to homeowners, it’s guaranteed not to warp, crack, rot, peel or colour fade for the next 25 years. When fencing maintenance costs are high, you want an option that is easy, low maintenance and costeffective; and ColourFence is all those things and more, not least the 25-year guarantee. No painting, preserving, repairs or harsh cleaning chemicals, just an occasional hose down to keep it looking as good as new. There’s a choice of colours available, green, brown, cream and blue – to harmonise and enhance your garden’s design. Choose a trellis in the same shade or contrasting colour. Both sides of the panels are the same colour meaning both you and your neighbour have a stunning fence to look at year after year, helping you build good neighbourly relations. The panels are 2.35 metres wide compared to 1.8 metres wide for standard timber panels (so you need fewer panels like for like) and can be cut on-site to custom fit your garden, whatever the size and the natural contours of your land. Our traditional metal garden gates are ideal for front gardens or driveways. With the ability to choose from simple drop bolts to key operated deadlocks we can guarantee the safety of your garden.

For further information and to arrange a free no obligation survey call 01823 792029 or visit colourfencetaunton.co.uk