MANNER lifestyle AUTUMN GARDENING

Harriet Rouse shares tips on how to tidy the autumn garden, prepare for spring, and what to make with leftover fruit

There's little more satisfying than enjoying the literal fruits of your labour - from crumbles to chutneys; sloe gin to elderberry wine, the shortening days and the lengthening nights are the perfect time to fall in love with your garden all over again and get creative in the kitchen. Grab some blankets, a fire pit, and some outside lights and you can enjoy sitting out for an extended season toasting marshmallows, drinking mulled wine and putting the world to rights. What's more, a few hours work this month will ensure that you can get back to enjoying your great outdoors as soon as spring starts to, well, spring in the new year. 

Tidy Up

Whether you have a small balcony with a window box, a vast estate, or something in-between, now is the time to vigorously cut back your buddleia, to prune and shape roses, and to thin out fruit canes. If you are the lucky owner of hydrangeas, they are a job to leave until the spring - by leaving the deadheads until after the last frost has passed, the new flowers are protected ensuring you get the best displays next summer. It's also the time to clean the Barbecue. It's much easier to burn off excess fats, to scrub down the grill now so that when we get that glorious March day in a few month's time, the BBQ is ready to go! Same goes for any outside soft furnishings... Once you're confident that you can't squeeze any more evenings out on the patio, clean and launder them, and store them away dry so that any mould can't take hold. There's no pleasure in sitting out on a garden sofa that smells of damp for the first two months of use.

Get Ready For Next Spring

You know as well as I do, September creeps into October, and all at once we're back in our wellies wearing coats that could double as sleeping bags, so it's best to get down to business now. After a long hard winter, the first shoots of life are enough to sustain us through the coldest months, and bulbs are the gift that keeps on giving year after year. By planting them out now you can ensure that your borders will put on a beautiful early display when they spring (pun intended) into life next year.

But where to start? And what to go for? Well, the good news is unlike some tubers (such as dahlias which need to be dug up and stored over winter), bulbs are a pretty forgiving bunch. All you need to do is make a hole, pop it in the right way, cover it up, and wait for the magic to happen. They'll then sleep safely until the next Spring, giving you pleasure for years to come. Daffodils are an easy crop to start with - and they are well suited to Jersey soil being an industry in their own right. You can choose from an array of varieties and colours and they are extremely easy to care for (not requiring any deadheading). Lying dormant through the summer they will start to put down roots again in the autumn ready for the following spring. Place bulbs in clusters of 3-5 in borders or plant out in pots, all they need is good drainage and lots of rain. Tulips have come a very long way in cultivation over the years, and there are a huge range of bulbs available. I love dramatic dark varieties such as Queen of the Night grouped together or paired with a more traditional pink. Don't be afraid to go for something less ordinary because they also translate brilliantly to cut displays. Should you wish to add an early burst of colour to an unloved patch of grass, crocuses are perfect and look spectacular when mixed with the bright yellows, whites, purples and lilacs contrasting dramatically against the green of a lawn. Alliums bloom later than these early bulbs, so plant alongside these for colour and height far into spring just before your summer beds come to life. They come in all sorts of sizes and varieties and are a fantastic pollinator and again look stunning in cut arrangements.

Getting Fruity

Autumn is a bumper time for fruit. From apples, blackberries, pears and late plums through to the hedgerows bursting with sloes and haws (if you know where to look and what you're looking for), there is an abundance of produce ready to be preserved. Whether you're harvesting your own fruits, or foraging for blackberries, make sure you check before you pick - where there is over-ripe fruit, alas there are always drunk wasps who aren't afraid to sting. Whilst it's easy to pick the best fruit and use or give it away, there's always something to do with the less perfect offerings as well, from chutneys and jams, through to homebrews, preserving those autumn flavours throughout the year is easier than you think. Whether you have your own fruit trees or not, keep an eye out for boxes perched precariously on garden walls offering free windfall fruits for you to turn into something delicious.

Recipes

These recipes are great starting points for you to create in the kitchen, but always adjust to your own personal tastes and the fruit you have available and don't be afraid to add spices such as ginger, cinnamon and star anise for some extra autumnal warmth.

Fruit Compote

Perfect for freezing in small portions, these can then be used to top yoghurts, porridge, or smoothie bowls throughout the winter. They last at least a month if frozen.

The method is the same no matter what fruit you use and it's really up to you what goes in... blackberries, redcurrants, sloes or any leftover soft fruit that you have in the fridge. For a berry compote take all the fruit wash, hull, and placed in a saucepan. For every 200g of fruit add a dash of water or orange juice and cook down slowly for about 10-15 minutes. Add sugar or maple syrup to sweeten as required. Should you be using apples or pears as a base, peel and chop before placing in a saucepan with a splash of water and sugar or apple juice to taste. To really lift to a winter warmer think about adding some ground ginger, cinnamon or star anise.