Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness

What’s going on this October in the garden

Greetings from The Walled Garden, at the time of year Keats famously termed the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’. It’s become something of a cliché to mention that phrase in garden writing, but it’s nevertheless interesting to note that Keats’ poem To Autumn was written in September 1819 at a time when frosts in that month were a common occurrence. These days, even though our autumnal equinox falls in September, it is now a de facto summer month (albeit a changeable one). This year on the equinox we pressed the first of the early-ripening apples – a practice run ahead of our apple pressing day on the 15th of October.

October is when autumn really begins in earnest; it’s when we reflect on what’s worked and what hasn’t and get a head start on the coming summer by making any changes we need to. The residual warmth in the soil, cool air, and higher rainfall make autumn by far and away the best time to plant out hardy perennials, so we’ll be clearing our unheated glasshouse of all the seedlings softwood cuttings that have matured into sturdy little plants and placing them into the borders. It’s also a great time to lift and divide herbaceous perennials to check the growth of any that have become too assertive, rejuvenate tired plants, and make more of the things that work well for you. In some of our borders we will begin a more wholesale renovation to introduce more seasonal interest. Like so many things in gardening this is a process rather than a destination, but in any case now is a good time to start!

Of course, the season would not be complete without the seemingly never-ending but worthwhile task of raking and gathering leaves. These we’ll stash away in our newly built composting area to break down slowly into a beautifully crumbly mulch to be spread onto the soil, giving things a much needed helping hand in summer. Although it’s really the end of the year autumn always feels more like the mid-point because you are packing up the current growing season whilst planning for the next. It’s an exciting time full of possibilities, and we are very much looking forward to sharing our progress with you!

Kate