Our resident gardening enthusiast, Maggie Baldwin from the Thetford Garden and Allotment Club, shares her October tips!
What a marvellous sight it’s been to see all the floral displays in Thetford this year with planters, troughs and, of course, the marvellous train. The town won a well-deserved Gold award in the large town category. Congratulations to all the volunteers and Town Council team. I’ve volunteered this season and have thoroughly enjoyed working alongside my fellow volunteers.
Maggie on her visit to Gardeners’ World Live with the show’s Associate Producer, David Hurrion
I recently enjoyed a visit to the Gardeners’ World Live show at Audley End. There were interesting border displays and show gardens, one of which had poultry scratching about in it, some excellent nurseries, plus the usual garden sundries. The day I visited, Arit Anderson and Rachel De Thame were speaking with David Hurrion, an Associate Editor with Gardener’s World. They gave some good ideas for late summer colour in the garden: Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’, Echinacea and some colourful Alstroemeria.
Buddleias can be cut back to half their height to prevent wind rock over winter. Leave sunflower heads in the border, or cut them down and string them from a tree branch or the bird table. Place any windfall apples on the bird table to be enjoyed by the birds. It’s now time to clear away any vegetable crops that have bolted or finished. As long as there is no disease visible, these can be dug back into the soil as compost.
Other jobs to be done include sowing broad beans directly into the ground to overwinter — Aquadulce Claudia or Meteor are good varieties to try.
Don’t forget to drain hoses and put them into store to prevent damage over winter.
Happy gardening!
Maggie Baldwin
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