September can be the most changeable of months, flitting between rain, blustery days, and moments of warm sunshine. It’s not unusual to see four seasons all in one day! Thankfully there is still plenty of time to make the most of your outdoor spaces before winter settles in, and plenty of September gardening jobs to be getting on with in the garden.

1. Grow salad leaves

By making sure you give the plants protection, you can skip the expensive bags of salad at the supermarket by sowing seeds in the autumn. Giving you tasty leaves during the winter. You can go for your preferred summer lettuce, or maybe experiment with more unusual winter salad crops. Try Texsel greens and salad burnet. Sow seeds every four weeks to make sure you have a continuous supply. See our Kitchen Garden Guide for tips on designing and planting your own flourishing kitchen garden.

Soon, the temperatures will begin severely dipping overnight, so consider covering your seeds with fleece to protect them.

mix of coloured vegetables

2. Fiery Flower Displays

The cooler autumnal temperatures can bring out the most dramatic displays of fiery foliage in the garden, so if you’re planting, be sure to use varieties that are the most vibrant, such as Japanese acers, ginkgo, and Mountain Ash. These trees are ideal for small gardens and also help promote biodiversity.

For your September flowerbeds, add some punch with Japanese anemones, sedums, and Michaelmas daisies. Seasonal plants such as cabbage and kale, as their red and white leaves become ever more vibrant as the temperatures fall.

3. Sow hardy annuals

To ensure extra easily displays next summer now is the time to sow hardy annuals in sheltered places and some in pots to provide colour in the cold greenhouse. Sweet-peas are easy to grow, have deliciously scented blooms, and a must-have, such as old-fashioned ‘Grandiflora’ types.

4. Plant spring-flowering bulbs

So they’re ready to greet the spring - flowering spring bulbs should be planted now to welcome the warmer weather next year. Try sunny daffodils, vibrant crocus, and fragrant hyacinths to create a vibrant and cheerful mix. Plant bulbs in a double or even triple layer to ensure you have containers bulging with bulbs in spring, sandwiching smaller bulbs such as anemone, Scilla and Muscari on top of layers of daffodil, tulips, and hyacinth bulbs to create maximum impact.

Hyacinths are ideal for forced flowering in time for Christmas to add their long-lasting blooms and intoxicating scents in displays around the house. You will need to buy specially treated or prepared bulbs and start their growth during the first week of October to make sure they are in bloom in time. 

A great way to fend off the wind and frost is by creating a walled garden, these provide a mini eco-climate with slightly higher temperatures. See our handy Guide to Walled Gardens for more info.

colourful tulips

5. Time to tidy up

It’s the ideal time to have a general tidy-up around the garden. Begin by clearing away any dying foliage and flowers. Clear out the pond plants, but leave the pond debris on the side of the pond for a few days. This will allow pond life to crawl back into the water then add the debris to the compost bin.

The trees are about to start changing colour and letting go of their leaves, symbolising the wind down to winter and a period of rest. Keep on top of any prematurely fallen leaves using a rake or leaf blower. But only after you've trudged your feet through them and heard that soft autumn rustle! Sweep all leaves away from garden paving before they become slippy with the wetter weather.

September Gardening Jobs Videos

Images from Pexels