When we moved to this house three years ago the front garden was an expanse of concrete edged on one side with a length of shrubs. These are a good mix of holly, cotoneaster and snowberry which are gradually being trimmed into a thick hedge.

The rest of the space was an unwelcoming site when we came home, so a couple of years ago a section was removed to make a large triangular bed. The compacted soil was a mixture of clay, sand and hardcore but it has slowly improved over time with the addition of leaf mould, garden compost and the emptying of summer pots as well as a good dig each time a new plant has been added.

Among the new plants is a clutch of Japanese anemonies added to the mix last autumn. They didn’t do anything much then but this year they have settled very well into their home and are flowering away among the rest of the plants. Japanese anemonies are a tough group of herbaceous plants that will do well in almost any situation, from deep shade to full sun. The choice of colour is pink or white and there is a small variation in flower shape and size according to the variety but the whites are hard to beat.

In the damp shade of an autumn garden the flowers shine out against dark earth and the slow fading of plants around. “Honorine Jobert” is a popular choice for a white flower. The large single blooms a beautiful clean white, the petals surrounding a central circle of yellow-orange stamen edging a greenish centre.

Anemone “Honorine Jobert” is a very hardy plant that will flower reliably for years. New plants usually establish within a year after which they will need very little attention, they will clump up and give good display of late blooms. The drawback is that established plants can spread rapidly which is ideal in a shady spot that is hard to fill but less desirable where space is limited. Keep it in check by pulling up shoots that pop up away from the parent plant. Unwanted ones can be disgarded but they can also be potted up and grown into new plants for other parts of the garden or passed on to gardening friends.

 

In the Vegetable Garden

It is time to dig up maincrop potatoes. They should have reached a decent size by now and be ready to store for winter use. If left in the ground they can suffer slug damage.

Potatoes are best lifted on a dry day so they aren’t covered in damp earth. However, if this isn’t possible it is a good idea to brush off as much of the soil as possible and let them dry off for a while in a dark place before storing them in a hessian or thick paper sack, avoid polythene which will cause them to rot. Tie or roll over the top of the sack to exclude light and store in a dark, dry, frost free place.

 

Weekend catch up

Now is the time to start planning winter pots.

If your summer containers are still going strong they can be left for a while longer. Fuchsias are looking especially good at the moment and it is a shame to disturb them. Popular plants for winter colour such as violas and cyclamen can be bought now and stored in a shady spot outside until they are needed.

Choose ones that aren’t yet in flower and pot them up into individual plant pots if they are looking root bound.

By the time they are needed they will have put on some growth and begun to develop flower buds.

 

Gardening course

York organic gardening expert Tony Chalcraft will be holding an Organic Vegetable gardening course next Saturday, at Stillingfleet Lodge using the raised beds and composting resources of the lodge’s vegetable plot as an example.

He will look at planning for 2014 by using crops that do well in our area, succession planting, organic disease and pest control and vegetables to plant now for an early harvest. Participants will also be able to discuss if this year’s late spring and hot summer have affected vegetable crops.

For more details and to book a place on the course go to www.stillingfleetlodgenurseries.co.uk

 

Gardening TV & Radio

Tomorrow

7.30am: BBC2, Around the World in 80 Gardens. Monty Don is in Bangkok and Singapore.

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

8.30am: BBC2, Gardeners’ World. A visit to RHS Rosemoor.

9am: BBC Radio York, Julia Lewis.

9am: BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.

9am: BBC2, The Beechgrove Garden.

2pm: BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Chairman Eric Robson and his team of horticultural experts advise gardeners from north eat London.

Friday October 4

3pm: BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Bob Flowerdew, Christine Walkden and Matthew Wilson answer questions from an audience at West Dean College in Chichester. The chairman is Eric Robson.

8.30pm: BBC2, Gardeners’ World. Monty Don advises on storing fruit and Carol Klein looks at the eupatorium.