VEGETABLE PATCH : A leaf day with a waxing crescent — steady conditions for planting out leafy crops before autumn tightens its grip. Ease leek transplants into prepared rows, 12 cm apart with 30 cm between rows, firming soil gently around each base. Corn salad seedlings go in at 5 cm spacing, rows 20 cm wide — they’ll knit into a frost-hardy carpet. Kale transplants, set 50 cm apart in rows 60 cm wide, will stand through the coldest months. Add a 4 cm layer of well-rotted compost between rows to feed the soil through coming rains.
LANDSCAPING : Trim hedges and foliage shrubs while leaf energy favours green growth — box responds well to a tidy pass now, removing straggly late-season shoots before the plant slows. Follow up with a 5–8 cm mulch of bark or leaf mould at the base to insulate roots and suppress winter weeds. Hydrangeas can be tidied of any remaining spent stems without cutting back hard.