Aren’t we gardeners tempted when we see plants at a knock-down price! I’m no different and was tempted to buy some late-season daffodil bulbs that were actually producing roots and shoots in their net bags. That’s nature’s way of telling us that they were in desperate need of being planted.

Well rest assured, despite the late season I managed to plant quite a few mixed varieties of daffodils over the weekend. I don’t expect them to establish as well as bulbs planted in the earlier part of the season, but they will produce some colour come the spring even if they look as though they have just been planted. Still, with a bit of love and care they should come good again for the following spring.

For the first time in a little while I was able to get into my border and give them a good trim back, removing the fading stems and foliage of a few of my border perennials, particularly the geraniums (which I also lifted in order to split the crowns into smaller sections and replanted to ensure I have fresh stocks for next year’s blooms).

I also had quite a few overgrown shrubs and climbers which had taken over the garden walls, especially the ivy which seems to have put on a last-minute growth spurt. Also I trimmed back and tied in the climbing roses as these have lost their leaves and blooms. They may be a bit Jack Skellington-like at this time of the year but come spring they’ll soon burst into growth again.

I also cleared away any fallen leaves from the roses to minimise the spread of black spot which one or two of my roses where showing – not too surprising given the wet autumn.

I also trimmed back my half standard Photinia ‘Red Robin’ to form its globe-shaped head, though more importantly it will be showier when its new bright red leaves appear in the spring which really contrast well against the darker green leaves. It’s also a good plant for hedging.

A good lawn can be an attractive asset to the garden, but my own – despite the recent autumn care – is not looking that attractive. The main concern is that it has very active worms leaving casts which are difficult to remove when wet, and it’s not nice to cut lawns with lots of worm casts as they get rather flattened which makes them more visible. Worm casts are best dispersed when they are dry by using a springbok rake, used upside down to spread the worm casts.

A few years ago, there were chemicals you could use to treat your lawn to kill the worms, but these are no longer available. Instead there are organic chemical deterrents which change the pH level of the lawn soil that help deters worms. As most species of worms prefer neutral or alkaline soil, these chemicals raise the acid levels. However, most lawn grass species are not tolerant of acid soils.

While I was tidying the garden, I noticed that my Jasminum nudiflorum has just burst into bloom as you can see from my photograph this week. Its dainty little yellow flowers on bare stems are contracting against my Virginia creeper whose leaves have turned autumn red. Jasminum nudiflorum (or ‘Winter Jasmine’) is a climbing plant and is native to China. However, it is flowering early as it normally blooms after winter – in fact the plant in China is named ‘Yingchum’ which means flowers that welcome the spring! Yes, it maybe blooming early but it’s still a welcome sight.