GINA PARKINSON explores the bright berries of autumn, welcoming them as we say goodbye to the summer flowers.

SHRUBS and trees are heavy with their crop of autumn berries. Through the window I can see blackbirds balancing precariously on slender branches to strip a rowan tree of the last of its orange-hued fruit.

They work quickly. A few days ago it was covered in berries; now only a few bunches hang at the ends of the least accessible stems and no doubt the birds will be at them soon enough.

Bright berries are cheering to see as the garden falls into autumn and all the lovely summer flowers fade. They offer a bridge from summer to winter, with many lasting well into the New Year. By this time we can be distracted with the emergence of the first snowdrops and crocus; before we know it, spring is sliding through the frosty garden gate.

Cotoneaster, berberis and pyracantha are all good berry-bearing shrubs of varying sizes according to species. Pyracantha or firethorn is most often seen grown as a wall shrub where its spiny stems will respond happily to being tied onto a support to surround doorways or windows. It will grow in all aspects, although deep shade reduces the amount of berries produced.

The berberis or barberry family is large and ranges from dwarf specimens growing 60cm or so high to species that will reach three metres. Like pyracantha, the stems are spiny and the large members of the family can be used as hedging to form a fairly impenetrable barrier.

The spring flowers are usually in shades of pale yellow and orange, with the resulting berries ranging in colour from orange to deep purple.

Cotoneasters also come in a range of shapes and sizes, from the fishbone cotoneaster Contoneaster horizontalis, which will can be used as ground cover or against a wall, to much taller species such as Cotoneatser simonsii and Cotoneaster lacteus. Cotoneasters are a hardy bunch of shrubs that will grow in any garden soil and in any site, including deep shade, although fruiting may be affected without a little sunlight during the day.

Although primarily grown for their berries, Berberis, cotoneaster and pyracantha all have lovely spring flowers which will attract insects often long before they open.

I have seen early bees tempted out from their nests by April sunshine flying around the buds of cotonester waiting for them to open. All of this shrubs have species that are good in hedging, where they provide cover for nesting in spring and berries for the birds in autumn.


In the veg garden

AUTUMN is a good time for planting garlic, as the dormant clove needs a period of cold a month or so long for it to go on to develop a good-sized bulb divided into individual cloves.

There will be plenty of varieties to choose from in nurseries and garden centres, all of which should be hardy in the UK.

It is a simple job to plant them. Just break the bulbs into individual cloves and plant them 10cm apart in rows 25cm apart. Garlic prefers a fairly light but fertile well-drained soil in an open sunny site. It is planted so the top of the clove is just showing on the surface of the soil. If the cloves are pulled out of the ground by birds, just push them in a bit deeper to see if this will deter the birds. Otherwise the area can be netted a few inches above the ground for a while.

Garlic needs little care once it is planted and protected from birds, should they be a problem. They will do nothing for the winter, then begin growing sometime during spring, depending on the temperature.

They will need weeding during their growing period and maybe watering if the weather is hot and dry. Sometime during summer the foliage will wilt and turn yellow.

It is at this point that it can be harvested. Leave the bulbs to dry in the sun and then brush off the soil but leave the foliage intact. It can be used to plait the garlic together in a bunch to hang in the kitchen or dry shed to be used when required.


Gardening TV and Radio

Sunday

6am, BBC2, The Great British Garden Revival.

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

8am, BBC2, Gardeners’ World. Preparing the garden for winter.

8.30pm, BBC2, The Beechgrove Garden. How to prune fruit trees and bushes.

9am, BBC Radio York, Julia Lewis. Gardening related news and features from around North Yorkshire.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther with Joe Maiden.

2pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Gardeners’ from the Isle of Anglesey put the experts on the spot when they ask Anne Swithinbank, Toby Buckland and Bob Flowerdew to solve their horticultural problems. The chairman is Eric Robson.

Monday October 20 – Friday October 24.

7pm, BBC2, Big Dreams, Small Spaces. A five part series in which Monty Don helps to revitalise gardens throughout the country. Monday sees him helping to turn an overgrown plot into a small holding and a Sussex garden into a corner of Portugal. No doubt Monty will be in the thick of it getting his hands dirty as well as offering timely advice.

Friday

3pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time.Chairman Eric Robson and panellists Matthew Wilson, Bunny Guinness and Christine Walkden answer questions from an audience in Frindon, West Sussex.

9.30pm, BBC2, Gardeners’ World. Monty Don gets on with autumn tasks at Longmeadow and Carol Klein visits Dominique and Dan for the final time.