Now is the time to plant wallflowers which will give foliage all winter and flower in the spring next year. You see the bundles of wallflowers in greengrocers and garden centres – choose fresh ones and plant out immediately. Orange wallflowers look brilliant with dark tulips such as ‘Queen of Night’ or ‘Havran’.

October is a good time to prepare the ground for new fruit trees and bushes. If planting on heavy soil add plenty of grit to ensure drainage is adequate. Work in plenty of well-rotted manure into each planting position and add a handful of slow release fertiliser when you plant the new trees.

As mentioned last month you can now sow sweet-peas ready for next year. Soak them for a few hours in some water to help them germinate, then sow 1.5cm deep in seed compost in a 13cm pot, several seeds per pot. Cover with glass or polythene until the seeds germinate and then stand out in the garden in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse over winter.

Now is also a good time to empty your hanging baskets and replant window boxes with winter pansies and primroses to provide a show through the winter into spring. It is good to clear away the excesses of the summer boxes and baskets that have gone over, and replace with something fresh and tidy – it always makes me feel very organised! Pop in a few dwarf daffodils like ‘tete a tete’ or ‘February Gold’, or perhaps some Iris reticulata. Add some fresh young ivy and maybe a small conifer or two. It is nice if possible to pick out the colour of your front door with the planting.

Mulch is a term that is bandied about by garden articles, and it basically means a layer of material laid over the earth to keep moisture in and deter weeds. The composted leaves you make are perfect to lay down around Hydrangeas, and especially other plants which prefer an acidic soil (pH of under 7) like Azaleas and Camellias. Bark can also be used, as can gravel, slate chippings etc. The golden rule is to make sure the soil underneath is moist before you lay down the ‘mulch’, and to remove perennial weeds such as dandelions, etc. October is a good month to mulch as the soil is still warm, and it will improve the condition of your soil in the future.