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The Fernwood Almanac

October in the garden in the Fernwood Almanac, Ludlow, Shropshire

Colour, then the first frost. Tulips go in from the end of the month, dahlias come up after it, and bare-root season opens.

PlateChrysanthemums on the autumn benches, October
In flower

In the nursery and in a garden within about ten miles of Ludlow.

What is out in October

  • Nerine Nerine bowdeniiStill going, and brighter than anything else left.
  • Cyclamen Cyclamen hederifoliumUnder the trees where nothing else will grow.
  • Japanese maple Acer palmatumNot a flower. The reason to come this month.
  • Hips and haws Rosa rugosaLeave them on. Fieldfares arrive in a fortnight.
  • Salvia Salvia 'Amistad'Flowering right up to the frost that ends it.
  • Liquidambar Liquidambar styracifluaThe best autumn tree we sell, and it wants space.
Planting calendar

Written for the Marches, where the last frost is usually the middle of May and the first is usually the end of October.

Jobs for October

Plant

  • Tulips, from the last week onwards. Late planting is what keeps tulip fire away.
  • Garlic, in a sunny spot, six inches apart.
  • Bare-root roses, hedging and fruit as they arrive from the middle of the month.

Lift

  • Dahlias, once the frost has blackened the foliage. Cut down, lift, dry off, store dry and frost-free.
  • Or leave them in with six inches of mulch. On our free-draining ground it works four years out of five.

Collect

  • Leaves, into a bin bag with holes punched in it. Two years later it is the best mulch you will ever have and it cost nothing.

Tidy

  • Clear the greenhouse and wash the glass. Winter light is worth the hour.
On the benches

What we have in during October

  • Tulip bulbs
  • Bare-root roses and hedging, first delivery
  • Autumn colour: acers, liquidambar, viburnum
  • Winter bedding: pansy, viola, cyclamen
  • Leafmould bins and bulb planters

Stock turns over with the calendar. If you are after something specific, ring on 01584 555 0234 before you drive over and we will walk out and look.

From the nursery

A note on this month

There is a reason we do not put tulips out with the other bulbs in September. Tulip fire is a fungus and it likes warm soil. Plant them in the last week of October or into November and you will lose far fewer, for no extra cost and no spraying.

Ellie Fern, Head of nursery
What's on

Annual fixtures, so the dates move by a day or two but the months do not.

Around this time of year

  • Saturday 11 OctoberEvent
    Apple Day42 of 120 places left. Bring a bag of your own apples for identification by the Marcher Apple Network, press your own juice on the vintage press, and taste your way through thirty heritage varieties from the orchard. Children under twelve go free.
  • Sunday 26 OctoberEvent
    Autumn Plant Fair8 of 200 places left. Fourteen specialist nurseries from across the Marches in the walled garden, with rare and unusual stock you will not find in a garden centre. Early entry at 9am for ticket holders, an hour before the gates open to everyone else.
  • Thursday 4 DecemberEvent
    Christmas Wreath EveningSold out. 24 places, and we release returns on the day.