Gardening in September
Bedding plants
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September is a great month to get some colour going in your garden that will last into winter with cold hardy plants. The weather is warm enough to give the plants a good start, and the colder weather due later in the year won’t affect them. Plant up cyclamens, pansies, violas, heucheras, bellis, and primroses, and remember that these plants will grow just as well in pots or hanging baskets as in beds in your garden.
Plant them about 15cms apart, and then cover the soil with bark mulch.
Pot of the month
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Plant up a pot this month that will look good for months. Start with a cordyline – you can get them in a variety of colours, but the red ones give you a great colour splash. Add in a few cyclamens – when you buy them, chose plants where the flowers aren’t open to make them last longer. Finally, put in an ivy to trail over the side. You need a decent sized pot – put a few stones over the drainage hole so it doesn’t block up, then fill with compost, with a few handfuls of topsoil mixed in.
Perennials
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Echinaceas or coneflowers are very spectacular this time of year, as are rudbeckias, erines, echinacea’s, and asters
Japanese anemones are the star plant for this month are. This is a very easy and reliable plant to grow – plant them in full sun, and watch them grow from strength to strength each year. They come in white and many shades of pink
Shrubs
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This month month, hydrangea paniculata is the featured shrub. Hydrangea macrophilla is the softer hydrangea that comes in shades of pink and blue. Paniculata is shrubbier, and grows much taller. It will be absolutely covered in masses of flowers in shades of white and pink this time of year, and the flower heads look good long after the colour has faded. Cut the plant back hard in early winter.
Fruit and Vegetables
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At this time of year, you will be planting crops that will be ready in spring. Plant out spring cabbage seedlings now, in beds or pots.