Colourful autumn treats in the garden (From York Press)

Colourful autumn treats in the garden

1:54pm Saturday 17th September 2011 in Gardening

GINA PARKINSON enjoys some colourful autumn treats and reflects on the first year in the veg patch

September is a strange month in the garden. There are late-flowering plants to enjoy, hot colours from dahlias and Echinacea, rudbeckia and sedum, but all the while there is that feeling that summer is over and winter is just a breath away.

Countryside frost has been forecast already and here on the outskirts of the city we may well get a brush of hoary whiteness.

So it is a beautiful sight when a small combination of plants gives a start of joy when unexpectedly spotted. One such in our garden has been pale autumn crocus popping through the leaves of alchemilla mollis.

At this time of year, the soft, felted leaves of the alchemilla hold jewels of dew in the morning then, later in the day, drops of rain after a shower. As they catch the light, the foliage looks to be decorated by small diamonds that glint in the sun which also causes the fleeting flowers of the crocus to open and display their orange stamen.

In the veg garden

We are taking stock of our first year with space to grow a decent crop of fruit and vegetables. We’ve had successes and failures but it is a learning curve and every year will add to our experience.

The onions were a failure, they struggled through the excessively cold winter only to be thwarted by the dry weeks through March and April. This autumn, they will be put in another bed where the sandy soil has been fed and fed again this summer with barrow loads of compost. Never having gardened on sand, we are quickly learning that organic matter is sucked up within weeks and needs to be replaced several times every year. Where does it go?

Cabbages and carrots didn’t fare too well either, caterpillars got to the brassicas (netting installed too late) and carrot fly to the carrots (despite growing a supposedly resistant variety). Note to self, put up the netting straight away and don’t waste time putting in lots of carrots, just a few that can all be pulled up at the same time.

Runner beans on the other hand have grown to excess and we will only be planting a couple of canes next spring. We only like the first baby pods and have struggled to keep up with pods that seem to reach stringy adulthood overnight. We will however be growing many more broad beans and French beans which were enjoyed by us all and gone too soon.

Chard and beetroot have grown well as have potatoes and strawberries, courgettes and celery, lettuce and sweetcorn. So, on the whole, we feel we have had a successful first dip into the wonders of growing and eating.

Weekend catch up

September is a good time to sort out the lawn. Firstly, rake the surface with a spring tine rake to remove the layer of dead grass that builds up and impedes drainage. Any areas that are slow to drain can also be improved by pushing in a garden fork every 20cm or so. Then scatter over a top dressing made up of a mixture of three parts sieved garden soil, one part sieved garden compost and six parts sharp sand and brush it over the lawn. This will even small lumps and hollows and improve the soil. Finally, give the lawn a feed with lawn sand. Bare areas can also be sown with seed that should still have time to grow before the winter sets in.

Garden talk

Askham Bryan College (ABC) Gardening Club will hold its September talk on Tuesday in the Conference Hall at Askham Bryan College, YO23 3FR.

Beginning at 7.30pm, the light-hearted illustrated talk entitled Life Of A Landscaper will be given by Richard Timm from the Fern Nursery, Binbrook, Market Rasen. Richard will draw from his 20-year career as a landscape gardener and garden designer.

Admission is free to ABC Garden Club members and £5 for non members.

Open Gardens

Tomorrow

In aid of the National Gardens Scheme.

130 Prince Rupert Drive, Tockwith, YO26 7PU, off the B1224 York-Wetherby road. A half-acre garden, planted for year-round interest with late perennials and grasses mixed with a large fern collection providing colour and texture at this time of year. Many of the plants have been grown from seed, including wild collected seed and there are rock and bog gardens, a pond and pergola, glasshouses, a shade house, fruit and vegetables and a small nursery. Open 1pm-5pm, admission £3.

TV and radio

Tomorrow

8am, BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. With Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther with Joe Maiden.

2pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Pippa Greenwood, Bunny Guinness, Matthew Wilson and chairman Eric Robson answer questions at Sparsholt College in Hampshire. (Repeated from Friday).

Friday

3pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Eric Robson, Bob Flowerdew, Anne Swithinbank and Matthew Wilson are in Wiltshire where they join gardeners at Avebury Manor. (Repeated on Sunday at 2pm).

8.30pm, BBC2, Gardeners’ World. Monty Don advises on taking rose cuttings and sows seeds for winter salads whilst Carol Klein plans a border at Glebe.