Wellies & Wax Jackets
Garden
Gardens aren't meant to be perfect. They're meant to be planted, pottered in, changed your mind about and occasionally abandoned for a cup of tea. Practical advice for growing things in the real British weather.
What to do now · October
The October Garden
The garden is slowing down, but there is plenty worth doing. Plant for spring, gather what is ready, tidy where it helps — and resist the temptation to tidy absolutely everything.
What to do in the garden this month →Explore the garden
Where do you want to start?
New to gardening
Start here. Straightforward advice without assuming you already know the difference between compost and mulch.
Begin here → 02What to do now
The jobs actually worth doing this month — and the ones that can quite happily wait.
Seasonal gardening → 03Grow something to eat
Vegetables, fruit and herbs for ordinary gardens, raised beds, allotments and containers.
Get growing → 04Garden guides
Practical answers for planting, pruning, propagating and dealing with whatever the garden throws at you.
Browse the guides →From plot to plate
Growing &
harvesting
No enormous kitchen garden required. Grow something good in a bed, on an allotment or in whatever containers you can squeeze in.
Plot life
The
allotment
Muddy paths, overambitious seed orders and the peculiar satisfaction of carrying dinner home in a bucket. Advice for getting more from your plot without making it another full-time job.
Head to the allotment →
Worth knowing
Garden notes
Don't tidy everything
Seed heads, fallen leaves and slightly scruffy corners are useful places for wildlife to shelter as the weather turns.
Spring starts now
October is one of the best times to get bulbs into the ground. A little work now pays you back when winter finally gives up.
Keep harvesting
Apples, late crops and anything still hanging on in the kitchen garden deserve using before the weather gets there first.