09
Early autumn
What to plant in September
A second flush of roses. Mornings cool, light slants golden — the most generous month in a British garden.
Sow indoors
- Sweet peas in root trainers
Sow outdoors
- Overwintering onions
- Hardy peas
- Winter salads
- Green manures (phacelia, mustard)
- Hardy annuals (nigella, poppies, cornflowers)
Flowers to plant
- Sweet peas (autumn sowing)
- Nigella
- Poppies
- Cornflowers
- Plant: daffodils, crocus, alliums
Herbs to grow
- Parsley
- Chervil
- Coriander
Beginner tips
- ✦Plant spring bulbs (except tulips) now — daffodils need the cool soil.
- ✦An autumn sowing of sweet peas gives you flowers a full month earlier.
Common mistakes
- ✕Lifting potatoes on a wet day — store them slightly dry, never damp.
- ✕Tidying away every seedhead — birds need them through winter.
Small garden & pot options
- · Pot up daffodil bulbs in layers (lasagna style)
- · A pot of winter pansies for the porch
Raised bed suggestions
- · Sow a green manure on empty beds — it feeds the soil for free
- · Garlic at the end of the month
Plant this month
If you only do one thing in September…
- →Daffodils, crocus, alliums
- →Garlic
- →Overwintering onion sets
- →Spring cabbage
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