Mzz B's Autumn garden

Annual Tagetes Cinnabar bought at Church fete.

Annual Tithonia( Mexican sunflower) with aster in background

Salvia still flowering

Asters with sedum

Gillenia

More asters

Inedible fungi

Autumn is clearly here- and with a very early frost at night in some places. However the garden can still be colourful, with annuals and asters and colourful foliage bringing different hints into the garden. These are plants that have either flowered earlier and then the foliage gives a good autumn display or they have been slowly growing in the background to await their time.There may also be other things cropping up on your lawns like fungi. These are often difficult to identify so unless you are absolutely sure then it is wise to steer clear, most fungi are harmless, and but some don't taste very good, some though can make you sick and others can be lethal!

Jobs for the autumn garden

• Plant wallflowers, pansies, forget-me-nots and other spring bedding in pots and borders
• Plant up containers for autumn interest, using cyclamen, heathers, heucheras and other colourful bedding plants Also try hardy ferns as they are happy in the low light of winter.
• Lift, divide and replant congested clumps of perennials, such as achilleas, once they finish flowering
• Apply vine weevil control to pots if plants show the tell-tale sign of notched leaf margins
• Plant spring bulbs in autumn, including crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths, bluebells and snake's-head fritillaries in pots and borders
• Pot up herbs, such as chives and parsley, and place on a sunny windowsill to use during winter
• Plant shallot and onion sets in a sunny spot, 10cm apart, with the tip just showing above the soil
• Lift maincrop potatoes, dry off and store in hessian or paper sacks, in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place
• Collect fallen leaves to store in a leaf mould bin made of chicken-wireor bin bags to make leaf mould
• Hunt for rosemary beetles on lavender and rosemary, picking off the striped metallic beetles and their grey larvae
• Check roses for signs of fungal diseases, such as blackspot, and pick off and bin all affected leaves.

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