Twelve months of my garden: October

So the period of intensive jobs has come to an end and I'm now enjoying the garden as it tails off towards the winter.

Some plants are having a second bloom with all the rain including the red snapdragons and orange dahlias, and the autumn crocuses have been fabulous though they don't seem to last long before they flop…maybe that's just the Liverpool wind. The winter jasmine is also blooming seemingly a bit earlier this year and the lawn is looking lush.

I finished edging the borders with plum slate paddlestones. They aren't as big as I would have liked however. I'm planning a rock garden for the area where the fern is, so I will use the smaller stones in my rockery delivery (probably next year at this point) to add a bit more variety to the border edging. For now though I'm just glad it's done.

The main jobs that remain for this year are to plant a handful more bulbs in the grass verge at the front of my house; and cut down two of the three pine trees that are encroaching on the cherry tree. Depending on the state of browning in the middle tree once the two either side are removed, I may end up having to fell all three. If I do I will replant just one, and work to keep the size in check.

I will plant my last set of bulbs after I do my final cut of the lawn in November. After that it will be coasting to December and the end of this little chronicle in which I have achieved and learnt so much. Then start planning next year's projects!