Autumn Gardening

Autumn Gardening with Emma Horsfield from the Nursery

Well it certainly was a rainy start to the English summer!! I’m glad to see that summer eventually arrived and the hanging baskets and bedding are still flowering well awaiting that first autumn frost. The later it arrives the better. With all the wet weather throughout the summer there was one bedding plant that really shone though and absolutely loved the conditions, that was the Fuchsia. Fuchsia come in all shapes, sizes and colours! The fuchsia is native to Central and South America and New Zealand. Some of the upright species are often grown against a wall or as a standard which make wonderful specimens. We have all become very familiar with the hybrids which are commonly used as summer bedding or in hanging baskets during the summer months. However, a few are hardy enough to survive all winter. In our area a few varieties can be grown as a shrub or indeed a hedging plant, Fuchsia Riccartonii makes a good hedge and is fully hardy even in Penistone!! Mrs Popple is another good hardy variety; and has red sepals and purple petals, and is a strong grower with an arching habit.

At the nursery cuttings are taken in early February and we grow over 40 different varieties, which are sold at every stage from a small pack of 20 plants in February to a large 4 litre pot Fuchsia in May or June time depending on the growing season. We have many of the old favourites including Thalia and Swingtime. My favourite varieties are the double flowers such as Carmel Blue which is upright; I have this in the border in my garden. If you have a wedding to celebrate there is the fuchsia Happy Wedding Day which is trailing, double white and looks wonderful in a basket, Millennium is also a very impressive dark purple flower of trailing habit. Another variety suitable for a hanging basket is Annabel which is a trailing variety with large white flowers that have a small pale pink line running though them. I have a particular love of the variety Annabel as this is the name of my first niece, who is not yet a year old, and I am on baby-sitting duty tonight while my sister and her husband are out at a party. I will see you again in Spring if not before at the nursery.

Reminders for Autumn
Plant bulbs for spring colour
Bring in tender perennials to over winter – or
Protect any tender plants from frost with fleece
Give the lawn an autumn food
Plant bare rooted roses and native whips
Put nuts out for the birds
Clear away dead leaves to prevent slugs from hibernating
Thin out shrubs and prune to shape
Tie in climbers to prevent breakage from wind