October weather can be both wild and beautiful with storms and rain alternating with calm sunny days and dramatic, low-angled sunlight. Tall-growing perennials and grasses responding to these changes will attract attention within the stable framework of any well planted garden.
As the yellow daisy flowers of the heleniums and rudbeckias fade, the garden’s colour pallet is taken over by the blues and purples of the many asters that are present throughout my garden. Their flowering times vary and will be influenced by the current season’s temperature, but by the end of the month the garden can be bright with these strong tints amidst the silvery plumes of tall-growing grasses which themselves are just beginning to develop their golden foliage tints of autumn. On the right day in October my garden can be seen at its most beautiful; its final crescendo.
Within a framework of hedges, shrubs and feathery grasses, asters expand to fill in the intervening spaces. Some varieties have vivid colours that work well within their dominantly green surroundings.
Wild species of Aster may offer softer tints making plants with an open, less mounded form such as the delicate lilac/blue flower sprays of head-high Aster turbinellus; here caught by low-angled sunlight.
Billowing mounds of aster flowers contrast with the more vertical or arching growth patterns of nearby shrubs such as Rubus thibetanus ‘Silver Fern’ or upright grasses like Calamagrostis and Miscanthus.
The autumn flowering ox-eye daisy, Leucanthemella serotina, delights me by flowering now. It is a tall plant, but stands straight up, offering a mass of soft white flowers with their green/yellow centres. A refreshing change from all the warm smouldering hues and tints that may be present nearby.
Liriope muscari is another bold perennial that waits until now before starting to flower; although low-growing, its purple flower spikes making a strong impact.
Now is a good time to be planting trees and shrubs and moving perennials around. Towards the end of the month I start moving tender plants under cover into either the shed or greenhouse. Fallen leaves can be cleared before they smother smaller plants, but more than this will be left to spring. The key now is to keep things looking tidy, but at the same time letting plants die back naturally. Autumn is at hand.
Now is also a good time to plant a few hardy annuals to flower extra early next year. I don’t do this every year, but it is worthwhile. You can sow outside in a favourable site, but I use pots in the cold greenhouse. Top of my list is always Ammi majus, cornflowers and Cerinthe major.
This blog post is from – Gardening Month by Month, a new eBook from Michael King relating his experience and gardening knowledge.
Each month of the year is celebrated in text and photographs taken in his own and other gardens from around the world over the last 25 years.
Gardening Month by Month with Michael King – € 10.99
