So what could I be talking about? It has to be the weather we are currently enjoying although sadly the forecasts for the coming week aren’t too promising.  But the last couple of weeks have proved once again that September is sometimes one of the loveliest months of the year, glorious warm days followed by much cooler evenings and nights when we are glad to cuddle into a warm jacket.  This month falls between summer and autumn and for gardeners is a bridge between the two. Already the leaves on deciduous trees are showing signs of changing colour a sure indication that autumn isn’t too far away.

Watching Monty Don, my all time favourite gardener, on the BBC’s excellent ‘Gardener’s World’ programme on Friday, he was advising that now is the time to take cuttings from roses.  So why not have a go at increasing your stock?  You need to take a hardwood cutting from a healthy stem of this season’s growth, trim to just below a leaf joint at the bottom and then strip off any lower leaves.  The next step is to cut away the soft tip to just above a leaf leaving you with a cutting about 30cm long.  Monty’s tip was to cut the bottom straight and the top with a slant – this way you won’t plant it upside down.  Choose a planting site where the new roses won’t be disturbed and make a narrow trench, fill this with either sharp sand or grit.  Slide the cutting in to about two-thirds of its length.  All you have to do now is leave it alone for about a year when it should have a good root system and be ready for transplanting to its new home.

Don’t forget to keep watering your pots and containers, even with all the rain we have experienced the canopy from the plant leaves can stop any of it getting down to the roots. I am still picking tomatoes but the crop has been smaller than last year, lack of earlier sun and cooler growing conditions, but the flavour makes it all worthwhile.

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