Action plan: CIAR BYRNE’s essential jobs for your garden this week

BRIGHTEN UP YOUR PATIO

Some potted plants might be starting to look a little tired and this is the time to freshen them up. 

Winter pansies are a classic, available in a wide range of colours from sherbet lemon to deep purple. 

Their botanical name is Viola x wittrockiana, but they are generally larger-petalled than spring and summer-flowering violas and better suited to autumn and winter. 

They are short-lived perennials and can last for two or three years, although they are often grown as annuals. 

Pansies are also hardy and can withstand frosts, although they may stop blooming for a while. One thing they don’t like is drying out, so make sure to water during warm spells. 

Plant in a nutrient-rich, peat-free compost and place somewhere they will get sun for at least a few hours every day. 

Evergreen shrubs and trailing ivy both look good in a container all autumn and winter long. Try Skimmia japonica — you need to plant a male and a female together and you can do this in the same pot to get both buds and berries. 

S. ‘Rubella’ is a popular pink flowered male that makes a good partner for female S. ‘Wakehurst White’, which produces pearl white berries.

SOW LAWNS BEFORE WINTER SETS IN 

September is one of the best months to sow lawn seed, as the ground is still warm and moist

September is one of the best months to sow lawn seed, as the ground is still warm and moist. 

Choose a seed depending on whether you have children or pets, or want a wildlife-friendly mix. 

Aerate the soil with a fork, then rake. Scatter seed and keep well-watered until the first green shoots appear 

CROWN IMPERIALS ADD A TOUCH OF DRAMA 

Fritillaria imperialis, or Crown Imperials, are impressive plants from the mountains of Turkey and western Iran. They can grow up to 1m tall with clusters of bright orange bell-like flowers. 

Fritillaria imperialis, or Crown Imperials (pictured), can grow up to 1m tall with clusters of bright orange bell-like flowers

Plant the bulbs early in autumn about 30cm deep. In the spring, feed until the flowers appear between April and May. 

PLANT OF THE WEEK

MISCANTHUS SINENSIS ‘KLEINE SILBERSPINNE’

Also known as Chinese silvergrass or eulalia, this award-winning grass variety produces feathery reddishbrown flowering heads in late summer. 

These turn a paler brown as we head into winter, and can look silver in the sunlight, hence the name. 

It forms clumps of green leaves with white midribs and grows to 1.2m tall. It serves as a great backdrop for perennials such as persicaria, echinacea and sedum. 

Also known as Chinese silvergrass or eulalia, Miscanthus Sinensis ‘Kleine Sliberspinne’ (pictured) produces feathery reddishbrown flowering heads in late summer

READER’S QUESTION 

My buddleia is leggy, can I cut it back? 

Elaine Fairweather, Lincoln. 

Over the course of one season, the butterfly bush can put on an amazing amount of growth. 

It is valued in the autumn garden for its lovely purple flowers, but once these have gone over you can cut off the top third of the shrub. This will help to prevent wind damage over winter. 

The real pruning is done in the spring around March when you can cut the stems right back to about 60cm above the ground.