The intense heat of summer has passed giving way to sometimes warm days but cooler nights and misty, dewy mornings and it is time to start thinking about preparing the garden for autumn and ultimately winter.  September is the month to harvest many of your vegetables and fruits grown throughout the year including apples, pears and onions and squashes that can be stored over winter.

Most summer bedding plants are now past their best and this is the time to replace them with all your spring flowering bulbs and prepare your winter flowering baskets and containers with the vast array of plants to choose from including winter flowering pansies/violas, wallflowers, cineraria, ajuga and ivy and many more all of which we have to offer you here at Capel Cottage Nursery.

Another job that can be carried out this month (and indeed is the final chance to do so) is to take tender perennial cuttings in order that they may be fully rooted before the cold weather sets in.

There is still plenty of colour to be had in your gardens this month including Soldiago, Dahlias, Sedums, Caryopteris, Rudbekia, Asters, Crocosmia and Plumbago.  In terms of structural plants, ornamental grasses look at their best in September and here at Capel Cottage Nursery, we have a large selection for you to chose from.

September is also an ideal month to plant any trees or shrubs as the soil is still warm enough to allow the roots to establish but not as dry as the summer months.  However, you will still need to water the plants in well.

Large clumps of perennials can be split at this time of year and is a great way of providing you with free plants to fill those gaps you may have.

Pond plants will need to be thinned out at this time of year so that oxygenating plants do not take over.  If you have trees in your garden then netting your pond at the same time may be a good idea to stop leaves rotting in the pond thus potentially killing wildlife.

Above all, enjoy this month in your garden.  For me, it is one of the best months of the year to really sit and enjoy the peace and warmth of the day before the darkness of winter sets in.