Valhalla Gardens is located on Mayne Island in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Canada. The maritime growing conditions have a hardiness rating of Zone 8. (See www.mayneisland.com for more information about Mayne Island.)

Autumn is a wonderful time for gardening in the Gulf Islands. While the days remain warm the heat of the summer has cooled. The hot colours of fall add an extra infusion of warmth. The flowers you should find in gardens at this time of year include asters, Schizostylis coccinea (Crimson Flag), Anemone x Hybrida (windflowers), rudbeckias, heleniums, goldenrods, dahlias, grasses and all the blazing late blooming annuals such as marigolds, sunflowers and zinnas.

The following is a list of suggested gardening activities and chores for the current and up coming months:

September

• Begin autumn cleanup by removing and composting spent plants. Do not add any diseased or insect infected plants to the compost.
• Move houseplants back indoors and check carefully for insects and slugs that may be hiding on the plants, in the soil or pot.

Vegetables:

• Remove tomato plants by the end of the month. Ripen remaining fruit indoors.
• Dig over beds as they are emptied and plant a cover crop if the bed is to lie empty over the winter. Don’t let weeds get a foothold over the winter.
• Continue sowing fall and winter crops of chard, lettuce, & spinach.
• Allow lettuce to go to seed and feed the birds during the winter.

Bulbs:

• Plan your spring bulb display. Fill in where needed (hopefully you made notes or took pictures) and plan new planting beds. Make bulb purchases early to get the best selection. Store them in a cool place until you are ready to plant. Don’t tear out annual flower displays until they deteriorate in the October rains.
• If you have a source of lilies for fall planting prepare the beds. Lily bulbs should be planted as soon as they are received. They cannot be stored like tulips and narcissus.

Annuals & Perennials:

• To keep annuals flowering as long as possible, clip off spent flowers.
• Collect seeds of plants you wish to grow again next year.
• Divide summer flowering perennials now while the weather is good. This can wait until October or even November but you might end up doing it in the rain.
• Dry flowers for winter arrangements.
• Last chance to take cuttings of pelargoniums; continue taking shrub cuttings.
• Evaluate the look of your fall garden and note any new additions that improve it.
• Fall planting of new perennials and sowing of hardy annuals can begin now.

Lawns:

• Plant new lawns or over seed bare patches. Keep the lawn free of leaves. Rake out moss and thatch build-ups.

Trees and Shrubs:

• Continue watering particularly rhododendrons if we are not getting plenty of rain. Prepare planting sites for trees, shrubs or roses to be planted in late fall or winter.
• Give hedges a final light trim. Prune summer flowering shrubs and heathers.
• Irrigate when needed, but slowly reduce watering so plants get ready for winter months.

October

Annuals and Perennials

• Remove annuals as they become unsightly; add to compost if free of disease.
• Divide perennials that have become too large. Move them now or label them so they can be moved in early spring.
• Plant out biennials that were seeded earlier – for-get-me-nots, campanulas, wallflowers, foxgloves….
• Bring all tropical patio plants indoors; check them for pests before bringing inside

Bulbs

• Lift tender bulbs such as dahlia, cannas, tuberous begonias and gladiolas by the end of the month. Label and store in a frost free location.
• Plant spring flowering bulbs. They will preform better if they have an opporunity to establish a good root system before the ground freezes.
• Lilies can be planted from now until spring.

Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs

• Row covers will keep cool weather vegetable crops producing throughout the winter.
• Improve the soil with organic matter – compost, leaf mould, seaweed and mineral soil builders (eg. Rock dust).
• Sow cover crops over beds that are to lie empty over the winter.
• Bring pots of non-hardy plants such as bay laurel, lemon grass and lemon verbena indoors for the winter. Pots of chives, parsley and oregano can be brought inside for winter use. (Lift the younger, smaller plants.)
• Create new beds you wish to plant next spring. Remove turf, weeds and dig in compost so the bed is ready for spring planting. Or smother weeds and grass with a thick layer of newspaper covered with compost.

Trees and Shrubs

• Now is a good time to move or add new plants.
• Prune roses only enough to prevent the wind from whipping long canes. Remove and destroy fallen rose leaves. Prune ramblers removing the older canes.
• Keep shrubs, rhododendrons in particular, well watered if the weather is dry. Don’t forget to water plants close to the house or under rooflines

Lawns

• Mow as long as it continues to grow and keep free of fallen leaves.
• Sow new lawns or over seed patches that have died out.
• Add lime to lawns particularly if moss growth is a problem.

Ponds and Water Gardens

• Lower water lilies into deeper water. Keep the pond free of leaves – cover with a net if possible.
• Cut back overgrown plants – add them to the compost.

Containers:

• Plant containers with spring bulbs and over-plant these with pansies, grasses and other plants that will look good through the winter. Leave spaces to tuck in primroses as they become available.

Pest Patrol: