The late show (From Gazette & Herald)

The late show

10:20am Saturday 15th October 2011 in Gardening

There are still patches of colour in autumn and the shrubby lilac remains a quiet star, writes GINA PARKINSON

THE wind has brought down a carpet of dying leaves and the garden is definitely autumnal. Birds are beginning to nose around the berries on the large rowan tree by the house, calling and chattering as they take their fill.

In the garden the autumn clear-up begins as summer bedding is pulled up and herbaceous perennials cut back as they fall into their dormancy. It is a melancholic task, another summer gone and with it the overflowing beds filled with bright colour. But autumn days can be the most beautiful, with burnished leaves and the bluest of skies; and the plants are simply sleeping, readying themselves for action next spring.

With that thought in mind, October can be a time for planting as well as removing and trimming. It is still not too late to put in daffodil bulbs, and summer bedding can be replaced by spring bedding such as wallflowers.

Pots and hanging baskets can be filled with violas and cyclamen for flowers near the house that will last for months and beds and borders look much tidier with the removal of dead stems.

I don’t like to be too neat. Some plants have decorative seed heads that will look attractive through the winter, and fallen leaves can be left on the soil for the worms to drag under and consume.

They also provide cover for numerous tiny creatures that add to the balance of the garden.

It is, however, a good idea to lift the leaves from evergreen plants in the bed, which may rot under the soggy layer. Lawns also need to be kept clear and for the next few weeks will need to be raked regularly and the leaves gathered.

October isn’t all work for the gardener and it is worth taking advantage of a sunny day just to go out and enjoy the garden. We can still get some decent temperatures this month, warm enough to sit out in the early afternoon in a sheltered spot or simply to wander with a cup of tea and see what is going on.

Although the blowsy summer borders have finished, there are still plants in flower, they just take a little time to spot. One such specimen is a shrubby lilac, a smaller less showy relative of the tall trees we see in bloom in May and June. Syringa microphylla is an apparently insignificant shrub with small leaves and numerous delicate stems.

However, in mid to late spring the rosy pink flowers appear, filling the air with wonderful scent. Unlike its taller more popular cousin, this lilac grows six or seven feet, remains compact and its small blooms can be enjoyed at eye level.

After the spring show, the shrub fades into the background until September and October, when a smaller flush of blooms appear once more, filling the air with a tantalising scent that carries for yards in a warm breeze.

Syringa microphylla is easy to grow in most soils and in full sun to light shade. New plants can be a little slow to establish; it can take a couple of years before they really get into their stride, but after that will need little attention. It can be grown among other shrubs or as a fan trained specimen on a wall or fence.

Annual pruning isn’t necessary; damaged or dead stems should be removed after flowering. A wall-trained shrub should be developed for three years then have about one third of the stems cut back to ground level every five years.

In the veg patch

LAST weekend, I cleared around the small apple tree which has almost finished fruiting; there are only a couple of fruits left to pick. It is only six feet or so tall and had become overwhelmed by the shrubs nearby and brambles that were supposed to be tied to the fence but had made their way onto the branches of the poor apple tree.

The brambles are so vigorous and seem to send out new stems at the blink of an eye. So it was time to decide how this area was to be managed and what was the most important plant in there.

The apple tree won and the shrubs have been cut back, the bramble imprisoned on to the fence, and the soil around the apple tree cleared of any weeds, ready to be sprinkle with slow release fertiliser and a thick layer of garden compost. This should give this little tree a good start next spring.

gardening TV and radio

Tomorrow

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

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Doug Stewart.

2pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Bob Flowerdew, Anne Swithinbank, Matthew Wilson and chairman Eric Robson offer advice to gardeners in Wiltshire. Meanwhile Christine Walkden looks at how to cheer up the garden with autumn colours and Katie Bradbury visits Bristol. (Repeated from Friday).

Friday

3pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. This week Peter Gibbs and his team of experts help gardeners in Newport. Christine Walkden visits the national collection of hollies and Matt Biggs returns to St Anne’s Allotments in Nottinghamshire to help with the winter preparations. (Repeated on Sunday at 2pm).

8pm, BBC2, Gardeners’ World. Monty Don advises on protecting tender plants and also reports from Kirstenbosch National Botanic Garden in Cape Town. Carol Klein visits a tropical plant enthusiast to find out about protecting them for winter.