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We love October

Just imagine for a moment that you are sitting in the doorway of a small aeroplane. The parachute is bulky on your back, your feet are dangling in the slipstream, below you (a long way below you) is a patchwork of fields, trees and tiny houses. Behind you is the warmth and comfort of the cabin, but scrambling backwards is not an option: you have to gird your loins, take a deep breath and topple into the future. October is like that – looking back at the joys of summer but with no choice other than to take us on into the winter.

Expert’s choice

Japanese maples

The Full Monty

As the climate changes, gardeners must learn to adapt to the shifting planting calendar – maybe it’s time to do things differently, says Monty

Have your say

The view from your side of the fence

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Clippings

Our roundup of the month’s latest gardening news and views

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Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds

101 FREE* allium bulbs for every reader

From late spring, this Allium Bulb Bumper Pack will provide swathes of colour from a selection of reliable bulbs. Easy to grow and adaptable, these varieties are suitable for pots, borders, rockeries and naturalising in grass, and many can be used as cut flowers.

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Spring into autumn

Autumn is the perfect planting time, as well as a season to nourish the garden. Discover what to do this month as Monty shares his 10 key tasks for October

Where do I start? Winter preparation

PART 13 Getting started

Amaryllis on trial

Tom Brown, head gardener at West Dean, has put 60 varieties to the test and selects the best performers for you to plant now

Pump up the style

As cosy autumn evenings close in, join Shilpa Reddy to make these family-friendly pumpkin projects

Turn green waste into black gold

Creating your own compost using organic waste not only benefits your borders and veg beds, but it’s good for the environment, too. Ken Thompson explains why and shares tips on how it’s done

YOUR PRUNING MONTH

Frances Tophill shares tips on what to prune now to get shrubs, trees and perennials ready for winter

PLANTS WITH PURPOSE

Part 8: Spring bulbs

Leaf blowers

Kay Maguire puts cordless leaf blowers to the test to reveal the best for the autumn tidy-up

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PERFECT BLOOMS FOR A VASE

Your wildlife month

Many plants are starting to fade back now, although Verbena bonariensis and rudbeckias help us – and wildlife – hold on to summer. And ivy is having its moment: at this time of year you can hear ivy before you see it. Queen wasps and bumblebees, along with the last hoverflies and ivy bees, feast on its nutritious blooms, building themselves up for hibernation or migration. Ivy is a true hero plant for wildlife: its flowers are a magnet for pollinators when there’s little else about, its berries offer high-calorie feasts for birds and small mammals right at the end of winter, and its leaves provide shelter for all sorts of species, from nesting birds to hibernating butterflies. The more ivy we can grow in our gardens, the better

Pollinator container

WILDLIFE PROJECT

Fresh from the plot

As autumn arrives, it’s time to put the allotment to bed after a truly rewarding year. But summer has one last treat to yield, as Rekha prepares her deliciously spicy apple slaw

Bounty on a budget

GATHERING THE HARVEST

October Growing guide

Get a head start on spring by making autumn plantings of garlic, onions and broad beans

WHAT TO DO NOW

50 things to do this month from the Gardeners’ World team

Gardeners’ World magazine GUIDE

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YOUR EXTRAS

Welcome to your very own Subscriber Extras section. Every month you will find it full of exclusive content and offers giving you, our loyal readers, even more to enjoy

Sarcococca

Enliven your garden during winter with this neat evergreen and scented shrub, writes Emma Crawforth

Sarcococca ‘Winter Gem’

Grow Christmas box and enjoy its heady fragrance during the coldest months

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Monty’s month

OCTOBER Collect up fallen leaves and store in

FLOWERS

OCTOBER TOP TIP If planting new shrubs and

GREENHOUSE

OCTOBER Snip off leaves to allow in light

BACK TO BASICS

OCTOBER Shred fallen leaves and use them to

FRUIT AND VEG

OCTOBER 20 MINUTES TO SPARE Take hardwood cuttings

AROUND THE GARDEN

OCTOBER Keep tying in the stray stems of

Removing oxalis

This month 134 Gardeners’ Question Time The BBC

Gardeners’ Question Time

Our experts tackle your gardening problems, including protecting precious plants from deer, sawfly, weevils and winter’s bitter chill

Crossword

Put down your trowel, pick up a pen and exercise those brain muscles instead…

NEXT month...

November issue on sale 20 October

Tales from Titchmarsh

Do we need signs in a garden to tell us what we should and shouldn’t do? Definitely not, says Alan, preferring to let nature speak for itself

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