Every plant has a season and place - now is the time for the richness and depth of those seasonal hues and scents to fill up the garden and give it a mature, full bodied character all of its own. It’s time to relax and be surrounded by the fruits of your labour with a glass of wine!

There are so many beautiful plants flowering now. One such is the award winning Hydrangea ‘Preziosa’. This starts as a strong pink bloom then turns a darker, richer velvet red as autumn approaches, as does the foliage. This shrub grows to five feet and does well in shade and moist soil.

Cardiff’s advantageous maritime location plus urban warming effect means we can increasingly grow less hardy shrubs. You could try Abelia grandiflora, rich in fragrance, which can grow to 10 feet tall. Phygelius is a great evergreen from South Africa growing up to 5 feet with flowers in red, orange, yellow and pink. Both suit town gardens, are normally evergreen, and low maintenance. Ceratostigma and Caryopteris are beautiful low growing shrubs with striking blue flowers.

It is the season of fruits too and a mention should be made of the magnificent Mulberry Trees at Llandaff Cathedral and at St.Fagans Folk Museum, fruiting in autumn. If you’re tall enough to reach them you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the rich, exquisitely refreshing taste. Known to be very good for you, watch out; they are very juicy and will leave your fingers, lips and any clothes stained red! Don’t eat too many at once. There are consequences !

Ten top things to do this Season
1 Pruning! Take out your frustration at the credit crunch by loudly and soundly crunching your way happily through plants done with their flowering, i.e. yellow ball Buddleja, Weigela and Philadelphus. Cut one third of all old branches down at ground level to maintain an open shape 2 Dead-heading. Easy. Cut off to bring back
3 Plant daffodils and put in some tulips and other bulbs
4 Plant anything! Autumn is the best time for planting
5 Cut your hedge
6 Pick your fruit
7 Clean the pond
8 Raise the height on your lawn mower
9 Spray for bugs and fungus on Roses
10 And finally, and perhaps most importantly, have a cup of tea, sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labours

Cardiff’s advantageous maritime location plus urban warming effect means we can increasingly grow less hardy shrubs.