The Garden In October

October. It is fleeting, earthy, and all consuming — and I adore it.

This October I will be focusing not as much on the new things I want to acquire and plant during the gentle fall season, but saving those that may have gotten lost in the shuffle over the last few years — shaded by a fast growing companion, or just forgotten in a quiet corner.

These plants were once as important to me as any still on my nursery list, and they deserve my attention. Yesterday I rescued the last roots of a once vigorous ‘Praying Hands’ hosta, and another giant unnamed hosta from a friend that used to be massive, and now, thanks to the machinations of ostrich ferns, isn’t. They’ve both got new homes in the deer protected kitchen garden, and I look forward to a new way of displaying them.

And there’s more where those came from. Had I not accidentally dropped my glasses in a bed yesterday, I wouldn’t have found ‘ Totally Tangerine’ Geum being softly smothered by an unlicensed comfrey. I looked high and low to get hold of that one, and had hopes of splitting it next spring. Now I’ll just be happy if the much smaller plant makes it through the winter.

The comfrey is gone. For now. Comfrey roots are quite resurrection-remarkable.

Starting over with some of these plants is humbling, reminding me that it is easy to stretch oneself too thin in garden-making, and lose track of the time, energy and money expended in one’s pursuit of a beautiful garden. Taking care of what I have in the best traditions of stewardship feels like the best plan in a busy life. Perhaps this month you can also take a look at what you have, search out what you think you once had, and take steps to save it.

Speaking of which, a lot of tropicals and tenders will be heading into storage this month, but not everything. I still wield a fair amount of self-control helped by limited storage space – and no, this won’t be the season I finally heat my greenhouse.

It’s been a busy summer, which kicked off with a fantastic trip to RHS Chelsea Flower Show and great gardens of Bath and Oxford with a group of wonderful gardeners who made the entire nine days an absolute pleasure (well the gardens and hotels helped too!). We had such a good time that I still find myself smiling over little moments when a plant or scent triggers a memory.

I’ll be writing about that trip once the garden and my speaking schedule gradually require less of me, but stay tuned to this space and your inbox for more news in the month ahead. Andrea Gasper and I will be announcing two new trips for 2025 and there are rumblings of a subscription Substack for those of you who are tired of reading my more controversial posts on GardenRant through our [very necessary] ad service.

Also, a few weeks ago in Grand Rapids, MI, I was honored to receive my a third Gold Media award from Garden Communicators International for my column In Defense of Gardening in The American Gardener. My editor David Ellis, after thirty years with The American Gardener, was also given a Hall of Fame award for his service to horticulture and media. It couldn’t have been a better night.

Back home, October remains my favorite month. And though I have said that of May –and might do so again during a particularly charming spring — October will always possess a deep resonance that May cannot muster. It will immerse us in the sights, scents and bounty of the growing season, and then just as suddenly, release us.

I wish the absolute best for you in this lovely, blustery, connection-filled month ahead. Though we will be scurrying around crossing our ‘t’s and dotting our ‘i’s before the onslaught of winter, we’ve thankfully got an extraordinary backdrop upon which to reflect in between tasks.

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“I should have planted that!” for the October garden

Carefully observing neighboring gardens month-to-month allows you to successfully increase your garden’s display season without having to experiment too much with regional timing. Make a note of the plants you love and keep it with you when you go plant shopping during the next planting season.

For the beautiful, blustery month of October in the Mid-Atlantic, how about a fall-blooming superstar – windflower or Japanese anemone. Just to annoy us, what was Anemone x hybrida is now Eriocapitella hupehensis. But the taxonomic change is so new that if you go to the nursery looking for the latter, you’ll most likely be met with blank looks.

‘Honorine Jobert’ with Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Red’

These strong late-season bloomers are a graceful, buoyant addition to the mid-autumn garden – infusing it with a freshness that perks up tired borders with color and movement. They surprise the gardener with a touch of summer against berrying shrubs and reddening foliage. Many will be blooming throughout October and even through light frosts.

Early to emerge in spring, the lobed, green foliage can act almost as groundcover during the growing season, and care must be taken to ensure that it does not too vigorously embrace more delicate plants. In late summer and early autumn, tall wand-like stems emerge from lower-growing foliage. They are surprisingly strong considering their cargo — ripe, glorious flower buds that slowly open over three to four weeks.

Flowers come in white, pink, and deep rose – both doubles and singles. The Swan series from Elizabeth MacGregor Nurseries that began with a hybrid sport with striking lilac petal coloration on the reverse of the petals — ‘Wild Swan’ — now boasts cultivars with ruffled leaves, pink backsides and a taller habits. ‘Wild Swan’ blooms earlier in spring and continues on and off throughout the season. It is also not as aggressive as other cultivars.

As with most flowers, my favorites are singles — ‘Honorine Jobert’ – a tall white cultivar at 3-4 ft. and the soft pink ‘September Charm’ at 2-3 ft. Both bloom throughout October in my Mid-Atlantic garden.

How to Grow Windflowers

A sheltered spot in partial shade is ideal for windflowers as those long flower wands can topple in strong winds. They appreciate a moisture retentive soil that is rich in organic matter, and once they are planted they would rather that you left them alone to take over that bit of the garden.

In rich, partially shaded soil you’ll be digging them out within three years to stop them smothering other plants. I keep them on the hungrier, drier side and don’t need to do very much weeding. Divisions of established clubs should be made in the spring as they are slow to recover, and often the fall show lasts throughout all of October — who can bear to ruin that?

Outside Tasks for The October Garden:

♦ Cleaning up in the vegetable garden is one way of making a dent in insect populations that overwinter under dead leaves and debris. If you have suffered an serious infestation of a particular insect, such as Harlequin bug on the kale, or squash bug on the squash, they are probably still very present on the dying foliage. Access your inner predator. Use a chicken, use a blow torch or use your hands to gather them and put them into a black plastic bag that should be thrown away. Composting the vegetable debris in a cold compost pile will just allow them places to overwinter.

♦ Dead leaves make excellent soil amendments – but they need to be gathered and composted first. Don’t spend time raking only to give this lovely free amendment away wrapped in bags that you (gasp) bought for the purpose. Compost! Layering with grass clippings, kitchen waste and seed-free weeds can give you the informal balance of brown/green materials that you need for successful decay.

♦ If you haven’t yet started a compost pile, don’t wait for the day that you will finally build the Taj Mahal of bins – do something now, temporarily, using pallets and long zip ties to fasten them together. Or, start a small pile in an unobtrusive corner. When you have the energy, you can build something more beautiful, but at least you’ll be composting until then.

♦ Remember the call to stewardship? Time to walk through your mess of a unplanted pot collection and figure out what will probably die over the winter if it is not planted. What’s the use of procuring a plant by hook or by crook if it’s only going to croak in February in a lonely black pot? It doesn’t have to be planted where you eventually want it – just get it in the ground…fast! However, If the plant is zone marginal (right on the edge of its growing zone), cover it with a pile of mulch and wait until spring.

♦ Outside water spigots – leave on at your peril.

♦ Evergreens that were recently planted and which might fit under the column header “Zone Pushers” MUST BE PROTECTED from winter winds. Wire and straw are all you need – but if you have access to old metal barrels, these make fine wind blocks too.

♦ Test your soil pH and amend your soil as necessary to give the winter a chance to temper additions of lime or sulfur. This is job well suited to the autumn as plants can be damaged from soil that’s had its pH recently (and significantly) amended.

♦ Still a good time to amend the organic content of your soil with compost or manure, but avoid putting actual fertilizer (organic or non) on your soil till spring as you may waste much of it. Nitrogen in particular will only leach out during the winter months.

♦ Just because it’s cooler, doesn’t mean it’s legal to burn outside yet. October is prime forest fire month in some areas of the country. Check your local laws.

♦ Frost is likely by mid to late month in the Mid-Atlantic. If you’re planning on saving cuttings from tender plants such as coleus or plectranthus, take them now before you lose your chance one cold evening.

♦ Once the frost has browned the foliage of easy tropicals like colocasia or canna, dig them and bring them in to the basement or garage or another frost-free location for the season. More tips on how to do this can be found here. Thinking of growing a few tropicals next year? My new book Tropical Plants and How To Love Them is available for pre-order from Amazon now!

♦ October is a prime month for foraging! Ever thought about trying it? Here are a few thoughts to encourage you.

Canna rhizomes lifted, sorted and ready for winter storage.

Inside Tasks for The October Garden:

♦ Tropical houseplants on the deck that have reveled in summer’s warmth and light are overdue to come inside. It’s time to make a jungle in your living room and think about getting a smaller Christmas tree this year. Use saucers!!!

♦ Take time to inspect all plants coming inside for pests – particularly scale and spidermite. If present at this point, you may not have enough time to treat twice with horticultural oil before bringing in. You’ll have to stay on top of it over the next few weeks or you could have a big issue on your hands.

♦ Do yourself a favor and keep watering cans on every floor of the house for easy access. When water is convenient, plants get it more often.

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