October is a crucial time to get your garden in order and plant out bulbs to ensure that your green space is the envy of your neighbourhood next spring with a stunning display of blooms
There is always work to be done in the garden throughout the year, but October in particular provides keen gardeners with the opportunity to set themselves up for success. By ensuring you have checked off everything on your gardening to-do list this month, you can ensure that you will have a stunning display of blooms when spring finally arrives after the colder months.
Whether your green space is vast, or you’re only managing a compact outside space or an apartment balcony, there is more than enough to be getting on with at this time of year – so get ready to make a trip to the garden centre. From those with experienced green fingers to people who are only just getting started with their gardening hobby, most of the planting you will need to be getting on with is easily manageable.
October is a crucial time to plant many bulbs, which will help give you a boost when spring rolls around next year and you’re greeted with a gorgeous display of blooms. If you plan your garden out carefully enough, you can ensure that there is always some flowers blooming.
According to the experts at Gardener’s World, October is the best month for planting a dazzling array of flowers. Honeywort should be planted at this time of year, and pollinators like bees are big fans of the delicate bell-shaped flowers it produces, making them an eco-friendly choice to invest in.
You should pop honeywort seeds into trays or small pots this month, but make sure you can place them inside a cold frame over the winter before giving them pride of place in your beds once things warm up again and the frosts have finished. If you’re keen to encourage bees and butterflies to your garden you can also consider planting phacelia this month.
White lace flower is a seriously stunning choice for any garden, and much like Honeywort the seeds should be planted at this time of year, but protected over winter so the young plants don’t get damaged by frosts. Wallflowers should also be planted in October, either in a bed or a pot, they will be happy in both, and Gardener’s World notes that these are a great companion plant for daffodils.
When it comes to bulbs, this is the perfect time to plant snowdrops and daffodils. Snowdrops are often the very first of the flowers to bloom in early spring, providing a much-needed dash of optimism after the frigid winter months that will remind you the worst is almost certainly behind us when they pop up. Sunny, cheerful daffodils are pretty much synonymous with Springtime and they also can be planted into pots really easily if you are short on space, or want to elevate your patio.
Hyacinths, Alliums, Crocus, Camassia, and Iris reticulata bulbs also need to be planted this month – and you can easily get any bulbs you’re looking for at your local garden centre. If you like to grow your own food, not just stunning blooms, then October is the time to plant some staples, like onions, garlic, peas, and broad beans.
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