happy gardening October !

It’s a beautiful time of year with the trees changing colour and although we had some warmer days over September, the autumn is now definitely here and it feels colder. But remember you don’t need to leave your raised planter empty and can you use it all year round – re-plant now with fresh winter bedding plants and you’ll have a great display for the autumn and winter months. And look out for our new polytunnel which will be on the website soon.

Handy Monthly Tips

You can easily create an autumn and winter display in your raised planter that will require minimum maintenance. For instant impact, outdoor chrysanthemums are sold in full flower now so just add into position. Ornamental greens are also popular and very effective – decorative brassicas that form rosettes of plain or frilly foliage – such as cabbages and kale – will last late into winter/early spring.

Plant bulbs for a lovely display in early spring.

Lift dahlia and begonia tubers to store dry over the winter months. Remove the dead foliage before storing them.

Invest in bird baths and bird feeders if you are not already fully equipped for your garden birds’ winter needs – birds are the gardener’s friends and will keep pest numbers down. It is also time to hang fat balls as birds need more energy to get them through cold nights.

garden4me flower of the month

vegetables & fruit

Harvest outdoor tomatoes – move trusses of fruit indoors to ripen or make some green tomato chutney. Remove all old and finished plants.

Did you know you can grow peas and beans in your raised planter? Mangetout are especially easy to grow and now is the time to harvest them.

This is a good time to sow late salad crops – cropping can be extended into winter if you grow under one of our new garden4me polytunnels – soon to be available on our website.

Plant garlic, onions and shallots now before the weather turns cold. Your garden4me raised planter will keep the soil warm so the bulbs should root strongly giving great results and a bumper crop next season.

Now is the perfect time to plant up strawberries for fruiting next year. Cut back old foliage to encourage fresh new growth.

garden4me vegetable of the month

garden4me – latest news…

We’re delighted that shows we’ve confirmed so far for next year are Harrogate Spring Show, RHS Chatsworth and Tatton and the Manchester Flower Show – we really enjoy meeting visitors and showing the unique features of our raised planters so do come along and see us.

Coming soon to our online shop – look out for our new polytunnel – a great time of year to buy to see you through the winter months.

And we’re also going to be launching our new gift vouchers very soon – a great opportunity for friends and family to help contribute to a birthday or Christmas present.

And here’s our new sandstone planter – we launched it following feedback from customers about what they would like to see added to our range – and looks like it’s going to be a big hit!

Don’t forget you can follow our latest news on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook – just follow the links on the home page.

customer featured planter of the month

Helen in Bradford loves gardening in her raised planter … ‘I love that I can garden all year round in my raised planter – and the double walled construction keeps roots warm and protected even through a Yorkshire winter! I’ve just planted up a fabulous display for autumn and I get a wonderful splash of colour every time I open my back door”

Coming in the November calendar – more handy hints, flower of the month, veg of the month and latest news.