October is a lovely month in the garden with so many autumn colours around. The leaves are falling onto the paths and need sweeping up regularly. That will keep us busy for a few weeks yet. There is a Rhus shrub just outside our front window which turns the most beautiful orange/yellow colour in the autumn before it's leaves finally fall.
The hostas also turn a lovely yellow colour before they die back. The cotoneaster horizontalis growing against the house wall in the back garden is full of berries now and the birds are loving them.
I don't do much clearing up in autumn, I have found that leaving the interesting seed heads from plants which have finished flowering and any foliage with good colour gives the garden a lot of colour and interest for a while.
I have been making up some autumn containers with cyclamen and evergreens for outside the front and back doors. They are looking very good and will keep well through the winter. The pinks and purples go so well with heucheras and many of the small evergreen shrubs which are sold at this time of year in garden centres especially for autumn pots.
October is one of my favourite months, not just because of the lovely colours but also because my birthday is near the end of the month. My potting bench outside the shed which Richard had made years ago from an old kitchen table was rotting and in need of replacing. I decided I would like a new one for my birthday and after looking at several online, Richard decided he could do better and would make me another one, this time from new wood. I am very pleased with the finished result. I don't think I could have found a better one anywhere else and my potting area is looking much better now. It's all ready for me to work at, but I feel it's too nice to mess up with compost!
