Jobs for October

• Plant Spring Bulbs - paperwhite narcissi will flower in time for Christmas if planted now.

• Keep deadheading dahlias so they bloom until the first frosts. Lift the tubers to store in a cool place over winter, replacing them with tulips and wallflowers for spring.

• This is a good time to move shrubs and plant new ones, as well as lifting and dividing perennials that have outgrown their space.

• Apply a mulch to some of the more tender salvias and bring other tender plants into the greenhouse for protection.

The English Garden

• Tidy the borders - cut down spent flower stems but leave some for cover for beneficial insects over winter. Cut flowers like spent alliums and annual honesty to use for winter flower arrangements. Remove weeds, fork over the soil and add mulch.

• Bring herbs indoors, so you have fresh supplies on your windowsill all winter. Put sprigs of mint in water to root. Divide and pot up chives, parsley and tarragon. Sow seeds of basil adding several to a pot.

• Prepare the ground by digging it over for planting new fruit trees and bushes. Make sure it’s deep enough for the plants base to go slightly below soil level and make sure it’s wide enough. Hammer a stake at one side, backfill, firm in place with your feet and water well.

• Harvest garlic earlier next year by planting it now. Buy bulbs and prepare the ground with good compost. Separate the garlic bulb into cloves and plant them 10 - 15cm apart. Push each one into the ground so only the tip is showing and harvest in June or July next summer.

Womans Weekly Gardening.