Column: Time to plant for springtime before winter weather sets in

There is still time to plant hardy perennials, shrubs, and tidy up, dead head and cut back if necessary.

It is still very dry so keep up with watering, especially pots/containers.

Continue to keep picking runner beans, tomatoes, and all other crops that need to be picked, and apples will be ready too.

You can clear any allotment space, dig over and even cover to keep weeds down over winter.

On a nice sunny day there are still plenty of bees, butterflies etc about on lots of plants, hebes, rudbeckias, heleniums, sedums to name but a few.

As mentioned last month and people keep asking what to do with heavy soil - dig in plenty of rotted manure, compost, peat and horticultural grit to help lighted it up and give it better drainage, and plants will be able to get their roots down into the soil without much restriction. It seems to be a real problem generally, but especially new build homes.

Now may be a good time to start planning on what to plant next year or making a new border if you have the room.

Plants that need splitting can be dug up and split with a spade or pulled apart and replanted, watered in, either in the autumn or in the spring.

Summer bedding is getting over now, pansies will give some colour for now and then in the spring, and bulbs can be planted.

Tie up climbers as any heavy rain or wind may damage them during winter.

Shrubs too have a place in most gardens, especially evergreens such as pieris with their coloured foliage turning red in spring and viburnum tinus, with its lovely pale pink flowers in autumn and winter, hebes too,which wildlife love and good in a pot too. Just trim back when needed, but the list is endless.

The plant of the month is viburnum tinus (pictured).