LANDSCAPING : The autumn equinox week delivers perfect conditions for flowering perennials! Divide crowded clumps of Michaelmas daisies and Japanese anemones, replanting immediately with crowns at soil level and watering thoroughly. / Plant late-season bloomers like chrysanthemums and asters in groups of three, spacing them 40cm apart for dramatic color blocks. / Refresh tired containers with cool-season pansies, violas and cyclamen, adding slow-release fertilizer (5g per pot) for sustained blooming. / In windy gardens, stake tall dahlias with bamboo supports and soft ties to prevent stem damage during autumn storms.
VEGETABLE PATCH : Feel the morning dew on your gloves? Autumn’s rhythm calls for thoughtful garden planning. Sow hardy annual flowers like calendula, cornflower and larkspur directly where they’ll bloom next spring, scattering seeds thinly and covering with just 5mm of soil. / Prepare beds for spring-flowering bulbs by removing weeds and working in 2cm of compost to improve drainage. / Plant garlic cloves 15cm apart with tips 5cm below soil level, choosing ‘softneck’ varieties for milder regions and ‘hardneck’ types for colder areas. / Thin out self-sown forget-me-nots and foxgloves, transplanting extras to fill gaps along borders.
ORCHARD : Hands sticky with fruit juice? The apple harvest continues in earnest. Pick mid-season apple varieties like ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’ and ‘Empire’ when they detach easily with a gentle twist – store only perfect specimens without bruises or blemishes. / Prepare ground for new fruit bushes by digging 40cm-wide holes and incorporating well-rotted manure into the backfill soil. / Prune summer-fruiting raspberries by removing all canes that bore fruit this year, cutting them at ground level and leaving this season’s new green canes for next year’s crop. / Apply organic mulch around established blackcurrants and gooseberries, keeping it 10cm away from stems to prevent collar rot.