Autumn Gardening is now all about planting the next year’s trees, shrubs and perennials.
This year I interviewed some amazing head gardeners, including Asa Gregors Warg from the Beth Chatto Gardens; Stephen Herrington of Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens, and Neil Miller at Hever Castle & Gardens.
All of them have said that, although spring and autumn used to be equally suitable for planting trees, shrubs, and perennials, the recent spring has been very dry. It follows that planting is better done in autumn because it has more rain.
Jane Moore is the award-winning Head Gardener of Bath Priory Hotel. She is not only responsible for a hotel town garden, which must be maintained 365 days of the year, but she’s also an author. Her book, Planting for Butterflies , can be found here.
Autumn gardening priorities
Jane says that the first thing you should do this autumn is not to use secateurs. ‘Do nothing. The temptation is to cut back the plants, but they often look great as autumn approaches. I like to choose plants that are easy to die back.
Verbena bonariensis is a great choice for winter gardens.
Jane also mentions hydrangeas as ‘unsung heros of the garden’. They’re easy to grow. They’re even better when they are in bloom. They can often change from white to green or rusty shades.
Take cuttings.
Jane takes some cuttings as she begins to gently trim back the plants. It’s not the best time to cut plants but they can still take root.
Keep ornamental grasses in winter for the wildlife.
I never cut back the ornamental grasses. They are never cut until spring. It’s partially because they are beautiful in the winter but also because many little animals can use them as nesting materials to hibernate.
In autumn, when I was cleaning up Stipa tenuissima, I discovered a large lump of grass. I decided to clean it up. When I picked it up, there was an adorable hedgehog curled under it. Then I put it back down.
Gather seeds and leave some out for birds
Jane says, “I have a large collection of seeds.” There’s a special quality to seeds that come from plants you’ve grown in your own garden. It’s likely that they’ll continue to do well.
Jane, for example, always selects the burnt-orange calendulas and collects the seed so that she can get the exact shade of orange she prefers.
Some of the plants she has in her garden can be traced back to a packet of seed purchased in 2007.
If your plant is an F1 – it’ll say F1 on its packet name – don’t collect the seeds. F1 hybrids were developed by companies that produce seeds and are rarely true to their original seed.
Jane says that collecting seed is quick. If it fails, well, it’s part of gardening to try and fail, isn’t it?
Jane likes to also leave seeds on plants. You can still see birds eating lavender seeds in the winter. (I’ve got a forgotten lavender plant I’ve been meaning to prune, but will leave it for now.
Planting spring bulbs under trees to naturalise
Jane is known for her autumn garden, which includes planting bulbs. We always have pots full of tulips in the spring to create a spectacular show. The first NGS tour is in spring, so I prepare the pots for this.
We also naturalise a large number of bulbs. The wild Narcissus pseudonarcissus daffodil and the anemone are my favourites. It is easy to grow Anemone blanda and it doesn’t really cost much.
Jane loves creating little glades in the spring under deciduous trees. There’s just something special about the trees in spring. If you have a carpet beneath, it creates an amazing scene.
Amelanchier Lamarckii, for example, has beautiful white flowers in spring before it leaves. “It was so stunning at top level, it needed something at ground level to balance it out.” We planted anemones blanda and wild daffodils there.