Make the most of the next few months and give your French garden some TLC.

The month of October is already nearly at an end  and the weather is still fairly mild and temperate. With the so called  Indian summer we had a few weeks ago, there hasn’t been a major  change in the weather, with winter seeming  far away

As this summer has been wet and  September rather warmer, your garden could be in trouble. It will need a degree of care and attention in preparation for the cold winter ahead. You’ll have to make sure  you don’t leave anything in your garden which could be a problem.

The main part of any garden is the lawn. So, make sure your lawn is in good condition because it’s very important to start the year with a good one. Rake the leaves (don’t forget to put them to compost) and mow the lawn one last time. The leaves  will make a very good loam. After raking out dead grass, you could apply a feed to your lawn, a high-potassium. This feed will give it essential nutrients for the possible harsh winter months.

In autumn, there are fewer pests but don’t forget that they can still ruin gardens. The slugs and  snails will be not a threat any more as they’ll be  going into hibernation but more spiders and daddy long legs are expected this autumn, partly due to the warm weather we’ve had, perfect living conditions for them. Last year the wet autumn will also have helped daddy longlegs by providing the perfect conditions for larvae in the soil. You will thus have to protect your garden against this invasion, though these insects can be a positive thing:  they feed on flies and other pests, are a natural pesticide, and the daddy longlegs’ larvae improve the soil, as it’s a natural loam.

The cold nights will begin soon and  rain will become more frequent- make sure to ease up on watering  container plants. Don’t forget to relocate vulnerable plants or houseplants into a more protected environment or make sure they are inside.

In Autumn  fruit such as  plums or  blackberries can be boiled into jams,  beans and  courgettes can be cut and made into chutney and  tomatoes can be deep-freezed and cooked.

Autumn doesn’t mean you can’t plant anything. There are a lot of vegetables which can be planted but  they have to be sown now, before it gets too cold.

Until the end of October, some vegetables can be sown to supplement leeks, parsnips and sprouts. For example, you can sow broad beans or peas, pea shoots, spring onions, shallots, winter lettuce, lamb’s lettuce, spinach, sugar snap peas and spring cabbage. As you see, there are  lots of varieties of vegetables specific to autumn and winter seasons. A few weeks later,  garlic,  onions,  asparagus and  cabbages can be planted in a greenhouse or outside, but they will need to be covered in order not to freeze.

Autumn offers its own and unique beauty with a lovely colour pallet; mainly from the trees, leaves, berries and foliage, but also from flowers such as crocus, amaryllis and cyclamens.