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A UK garden in October
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The monthly read · October

What to plant in October

Plant now, thank yourself in May. Leaves are coming down, the borders are collapsing gracefully, and there is a strong temptation to tidy the lot away. Resist some of it. October is for planting, mulching, and leaving enough standing for everything that has to overwinter out there.

October · UK gardens

Four to plant in October

Soil is still warm and the rain has returned — the easiest planting month of the year.

  • Garlic 'Solent Wight'
    Foolproof

    Garlic 'Solent Wight'

    Allium sativum

    Garlic needs a cold spell to split into cloves, so October planting is not optional. Push individual cloves in pointed end up, then forget about them until July.

    Photo by Paul Marlow on Unsplash
  • Crocus tommasinianus
    Bee favourite

    Crocus tommasinianus

    Crocus tommasinianus

    The one crocus that naturalises properly into grass. First food of the year for queen bumblebees, and squirrels leave it alone far more readily than the fat Dutch hybrids.

    AI-generated image, made with Google Gemini
  • Hawthorn hedging
    Wildlife

    Hawthorn hedging

    Crataegus monogyna

    Bare-root whips cost pennies each in autumn. Blossom in May, berries for the birds in autumn, and a thorny hedge that beats any fence for anything that lives in your garden.

    Photo by Anna Zhynhel on Unsplash
  • Camassia
    Statement

    Camassia

    Camassia leichtlinii

    Tall blue spires that flower in the gap between the tulips and the roses. Happy in heavier, damper soil where most bulbs rot, and superb naturalised in long grass.

    Photo by Arwen on Unsplash

Garden ideas to nick this month

  • One year, no effort

    Make leaf mould in a bin bag

    Fill a black bag with fallen leaves, splash in some water, punch a few holes and leave it behind the shed. In a year you have the best soil conditioner money cannot buy.

    AI-generated image, made with Google Gemini

  • Wide hole, not deep

    Plant a tree, properly

    Dig it three times as wide as the rootball and no deeper — the graft union must stay clear of the soil. Autumn planting means a full winter of root growth before the first dry spell tests it.

    Photo by George Bakos on Unsplash

A garden to visit

Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, Gloucestershire

Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, Gloucestershire

Acer Glade, mid-October

A fortnight when the Japanese maples turn the light itself orange. Worth the trip for one lesson alone: autumn colour is a design decision, not an accident.
Photo by William Warby on Unsplash

In the BeeWise app

This read appears in the app's Inspire tab, where each idea can go straight onto your Garden Jobs, matched to the plants you grow.

A plan for your own garden

BeeWise turns October's ideas into jobs for the plants you actually grow, in your local conditions.

For UK outdoor gardens · iPhone and Android