It has been a beautiful month so far but cooler mornings and evenings remind us that autumn is on its way and it is time to start preparing the garden for winter. Here, GINA PARKINSON lists some of the jobs that need to be done...

- Clear out pots of summer bedding as plants fade and run to seed. The containers can be washed and put away for winter or planted up for autumn to spring displays. Use a free draining compost and stand the pot on feet to stop the compost becoming too wet in winter. Avoid using pots with built-in reservoirs for the same reason.

Mix controlled-release plant food with the compost and then fill with good sized plants as they won't grow all that much over winter.

To extend the interest of the display, put layers of spring-flowering bulbs underneath plants such as winter flowering heather, pansies, ornamental cabbages, ivy and wallflowers. Other pots can be planted with small, evergreen shrubs or grasses that remain intact over winter with forget-me-not seedlings harvested from the garden pushed into any gaps.

- In the garden, herbaceous perennials can be divided this month although it is best to leave ones that are still flowering until spring. Loosen the soil around and underneath the plant so it can be lifted reasonably easily. Some plants form individual sections naturally and it is easy to see where the divisions should be made. Others are harder to deal with and have to be cut with a knife or the sharp edge of a spade if the clump is big. Replant large sections straight away, but pot up and label smaller pieces and keep them in a sheltered spot for planting out early next summer.

- Spaces in the garden can be filled with hardy perennials, roses and deciduous trees, shrubs and climbers from now and until the soil gets frozen or too cold and wet for planting. Evergreens are best planted in spring as are grey leaved specimens.

- There always seems to be pruning to do whatever the time of year and September is no exception. Buddleja can be cut back by about one third to reduce wind damage with further pruning done in early spring. The faded blooms of summer-flowering heather should be trimmed back but don't cut into old brown wood as it won't reshoot and the plant will die.

Hedging such as privet and shrubby honeysuckle can be trimmed back to make them neat for winter. Tidy the often neglected soil underneath all hedges, removing dead leaves, twigs and other rubbish and topping with a thick layer of mulch. If the soil is very dry, soak it before putting on the mulch.

Remove the shoots of climbers such as ivy and virginia creeper that have grown under tiles, into gutters, on to window frames, into fence slats and on to greenhouse panes. More drastic pruning can be done in the spring.

Weekend catch-up

Hardy annuals should be sown outside by mid-September. Put them directly into the garden or in pots in a sheltered, sunny place. Sow by early October if they are being kept in an unheated greenhouse or coldframe.

Updated: 09:11 Saturday, September 14, 2002