Gardening tips for October: Plant spring bedding

If you want to buy any of the plants mentioned below for your own

garden, visit www.countrylife.co.uk/nursery and type or copy and paste

the name into the search. Plants are delivered in sturdy boxes in a

matter of days from one of the finest nurseries in the country.

Now is the hour of planting spring bedding in its final positions, having cleared the fading beauties of summer and improved the soil. Doing it now will mean it can get its roots established when there's still some warmth in the soil, in order to make a strong start next year. Edging, in the form of forget-me-nots, double daisies and so forth, goes in first, to form the frame of the picture. Stand back from time to time and straighten the line. Then, stride over it and fill in the groundwork, typically with wallflowers, grading the plants for size.

* Gardening calendar: October jobs