Gardening guru Monty Don has urged British gardeners to take advantage of perfect October conditions to make sure they plant one garden essential to ensure ‘years of beauty’
Monty Don has urged British gardeners to make sure they remember one gardening essential this month.
The trusted gardening legend, 69, is known for his vital gardening tips that help amateur horticulturalists with their own projects. For this tip, Monty spoke about one thing gardener can do at this time of year to try and make sure they ensure years of beauty in their garden.
Monty, speaking in the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine’s ‘The Full Monty’ section, said that this is the right time of year for people to settle hedges into the ground. The warmth of the October soil can help settling hedges down with “little or no demand”, Monty said, meaning top garden skills are not really needed for carrying out this task.
Plants of a modest size are the best choice because they are cheaper and easier to maintain. Monty said: “So plant hedges. Make them low, tall, straight and curved. October is the best month because the soil is warm, and the roots will get established with little or no demand from the foliage.”
He added: “Then trim once a year after the birds have nested and the young fledged. That’s it. Not a lot of room for horticultural expertise or opportunities for displaying your gardening credentials. But decades of pleasure and beauty await you.”
The warm ground is also good for planting bulbs at this time of year. TikTok user ‘plant_daddyuk’, also known as ‘Michael’, said that autumn is the “perfect time to get your spring flowering bulbs in the ground or pots.” He advised gardeners to plant a range of bulbs that will bloom in the spring next year, advising that September to November was the best time to plant.
In a post on October 15, Michael said that tulips are one of the best flowers to plant at this time of year. BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine also said tulips are “perfect for adding colour to borders in April and May and grow very well in pots”. The magazine advised: “Tulips are spring bulbs, planted in mid to late autumn. Tulips are technically perennial, but years of breeding to get the most beautiful blooms means that many varieties only flower reliably for one year. Many gardeners plant new bulbs each autumn to ensure a good display. If you’re growing tulips in pots, you need to plant fresh bulbs each year.”
In his video, Michael also advised that muscari, alliums, daffodils and fritillaria are all great flowers to plant. This set of flowers will provide gardeners with a wide range of colours once spring arrives. As the days become darker and colder, life can seem a bit more miserable outside of the summer sun, but there a few ways people can get their garden to bloom.
