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ANNA TAYLOR, OWNER OF ANNA’S FLOWER FARM IN AUDLEY END, SHARES WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE GARDEN THIS MONTH GARDEN GROW? How does your SEPTEMBER
hen the dahlias, salvias and chrysanthemums are giving the display of the year – grasses
softly interlacing in-between shrubs, while leaves begin to turn a little – it’s easy to see why September is my favourite month. I love the warm days and vibrant colours. By the autumn equinox, plants know that the nights are longer than the days and pump out flowers in triple-quick time to ensure the future succession. In my flower-growing classes, I talk about how one needs to think in 4D across the year: while one plant is flowering, another is resting beneath the ground. There is never really a start to the gardening year, but if there is a month to crown the ‘new horticultural year’, I believe September to be it. Now is a great the time to sow annuals, begin sprouting ranunculus and anemones, plant narcissus and other spring bulbs (wait until November for tulips). Essentially, get ready for the spring. As the soil is damper, you can think about how to improve your soil for great plant health and display next year. With the heat and drought of this summer, it won’t have escaped any of us that gardening will look very different in the future. Good soil health – particularly substrate that absorbs and holds water better – is the first place we should look. My top tips begin with reducing how much you move the soil. Use a hoe and only dig when you need to lift or plant something. Leave roots in the soil, reducing evaporation and any disturbance of the microbacterial activity. Add a centimetre or so of mulch each year to your beds. Use
THINK AHEAD Future-proofing your garden in the face of unpredictable weather will be key to healthy beds
Finally, the watering. More water butts, anything that I can store water in, dropping a watering can on pots and seedlings. In cropping beds and permanent borders, I am installing drip tape everywhere. I like to water as little as possible, and when I do, I water by hand. But this summer, that wasn’t enough. Often, the quick-draining sandy soil dried out so much in-between. Where we do have soaker hoses and drip tape, the plants have done so much better with far less water. Soaker hoses give more targeted, efficient irrigation, since the hose with tiny holes releases water slowly, which means the soil gently absorbs the water and holds on to it. This is best if you can set up a timer and run hoses for a few hours late in the evening, when required. You can really take any one of these ideas this September and begin to apply it in your gardens. I guarantee they will be better for it, and we can look forward to future Septembers of still vibrant gardens – whatever the weather. annasflowerfarm.com
your own homemade compost (or order from Field Compost or Madingley Mulch – ask them to advise you on the product, depending on your soil type and use). New beds can start with cardboard over weeds and pile on about five inches of compost or organic matter. It really works. Check out Charles Dowding for more on this. Cover the soil at all times. From spring to autumn, I sow quick-growing radish, salad leaves, nasturtiums and calendula between flower crops, with squash and pumpkins over compost heaps and empty patches. Then, later in the year, sow green manures to bind the soil and continue feeding the microbiology over the winter. Sometimes I lay spent crops on the soil. Growing different species of plants in the same space and allowing plants to self-sow has been great for reducing pests and diseases. This is polyculture, creating natural biodiversity and balance. Sure, it does take me longer to cut flowers efficiently, but I know my soil health and plants are much healthier for it.
98 SEPTEMBER 2022 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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