Gina Parkinson welcomes the new season.

Gardens are filled with colour at the moment, from bedding having a last fling before the first frosts to trees as their colour turns before their foliage dies.

In our garden, we have a riot of tones from pink impatiens and late roses and golden yellow and orange from climbing nasturtiums and rudbeckia.

Among the good doers at this time of year are fuchsias both tender and hardy although the tender species will soon have to be gathered in and put somewhere sheltered for winter.

Some that are semi tender will survive if left outside all year and become quite woody and tough although I have found they flower later than those more carefully looked after. The most popular of the hardy species is Fuchsia magellanica, with slender rich red and purple flowers and dark foliage.

The variety 'Mrs Popple' is a great favourite with larger flowers than the species and vigorous growth. It is one of the hardiest, readily available and will quickly grow into a large shrub. Like the rest of the family, 'Mrs Popple' likes fertile soil that doesn't dry out and sun or partial shade.

Tender bedding is beginning to go over but the start of October still sees pots and containers brimming with their flowers and foliage.

The fluffy blue heads of ageratum can last to the first frost even though they have been flowering for months while trailing lobelia spreads its stems over and through other plants and down the sides of hanging baskets and plant pots.

It will self seed in mild areas with tiny seedlings appearing in cracks in patios and in the spaces between the yard and house wall next spring, a useful supply of free plants since they can be carefully removed while small and potted up.

We have had a late flush of roses in our garden with a cluster of blooms on the climber 'Pink Perpetue'. In a mild winter, roses can keep producing an odd bloom right up until Christmas.

Weekend catch-up

A leaf mould bin is a useful addition to the garden if space allows since it gives a place to put the fallen deciduous leaves we will soon have as well as becoming a source of soil improver and mulch. To make the bin, simply drive four strong posts into the ground to create the corners of a rough square or rectangle then, using a hammer and U staples, attach a length of galvanised chicken wire all the way around to form the container. Pile the leaves in every time they are cleared from the garden and leave them for a year or more to produce lovely, dark crumbly leaf mould to spread over the garden or incorporate into the soil.

If space is a problem the leaves can be gathered up and put into black bin liners. Fasten and pierce the top to allow moisture in and the bottom to allow excess water out and put somewhere out of the way in the garden. Like the bin it will take a year or so for the leaves to break down but once the first year is over and if the job is done annually there after, there will always be a ready supply of leaf mould available.

Open Gardens

Sunday, October 3

In aid of British Red Cross

Helmsley Walled Garden. From Helmsley town centre, go around the church to Cleveland Way long stay car park then follow the signed footpath to the garden. Disabled access along Cleveland Way (signed). Five acre restored walled garden built in 1758 and set beneath Helmsley castle. There are perennial borders, roses, fruit and vegetables including 50 varieties of Yorkshire apples, plant nursery, caf and craft workshops. Dogs and picnics welcome. One of the projects this year has been the restoration of the glasshouses.

Open 2-5pm. Admission £3 adult, accompanied children free.

Updated: 16:24 Friday, October 01, 2004