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If you've returned from vacation to find unkempt plants, wilted flowers and spoiled vegetables, it's time to tidy up, think about autumn planting and choose some bulbs that will flower in spring.
You may want to try keeping your annuals in pots a little longer, but unless we have an Indian summer, they are unlikely to reach their pre-holiday glory.
So what can you do?
1. Get rid of dead annuals in pots.
You know it's time to throw in the towel when your trailing lobelias have turned brown, your petunias are spindly and lifeless, and other seasonal plants like lizzies, verbena, and begonias have wilted.
You may be able to save pelargoniums if they haven't been flooded by rain. They will withstand drought conditions, however, so remove any wilted flowers and water and feed them to make them last a little longer.
2. Arrange perennials in containers.
If your potted perennials have survived and you eventually want to move them to a border, give them a good soak and cut back, and think about where you might relocate them later in the fall.
3. Add color
Planting late summer-blooming mums and dahlias in containers with fresh compost can help you achieve fall color. Potted evergreens can be dipped in a bucket of water to ensure their roots are moist, but not waterlogged. They will add height and structure to any container as you replace summer-blooming plants with fall-blooming ones.
In beds, cut back straggly growth, although you can leave the seed heads of perennials such as rudbeckia to add architectural interest over winter. To add colour, think about planting some sedums, now known as Hylotelephium, which look wonderful at the front of a bed. Choose showy varieties such as 'Red Cauli', which produces crimson-red flower heads.
Saxifrages are also worth considering for a burst of colour. Among the standout plants from a recent RHS Garden Wisley trial of hardy autumn-flowering perennial saxifrages is Saxifraga 'Shiranami', an elegant variety with starry white flowers above bright, fresh green foliage. This variety flowers for many weeks in autumn and is best planted in partial shade.
Asters and Japanese anemones are also ideal for borders as summer turns to fall, although be aware that Japanese anemones can be difficult to eradicate if you decide you don't like them. The deep red flowers can also add shape and color to a border in late summer and fall.
4. Harvesting crops
You may have to get rid of some of your crops if you haven't had anyone to look after them while you've been away.
Radishes may have become woody, lettuce may go to seed in hot weather and green beans may be too long and stringy, while zucchini may have turned into squash and tomatoes may have developed blossom end rot due to uneven and inconsistent watering.
You'll need to throw out any produce that's gone off, deposit it in the composter, and pick out any vegetables, such as green beans, that are still edible. Freeze any surplus by blanching the crop (whether it's beans, carrots or peas) for a minute or two in boiling water and then plunging them into ice water before draining and freezing in bags.
5. Stay on top of weeds
They may have grown in your absence, given the sunny and rainy weather, so be sure to keep them under control in your borders before autumn arrives, or you'll find them sprouting all over the place come spring.
6. Leave your lawn
Don't worry if your lawn has turned brown, though it's unlikely to have been burnt by this summer's changeable weather. If it has, it will recover with the autumn rains. If you want to spruce it up, set your lawnmower blades high to cut through the grass and remove weed seeds.
7. Plant spring bulbs
Plant bulbs such as snowdrops, daffodils, muscari and crocuses in your new pots and beds to give you something to look forward to in spring. They are now available from garden centres and online bulb shops.
In containers, plant them deeply around conifers or other potted evergreens to provide bursts of color in late winter and spring or beneath fall potted plants. Bulbs can now be ordered from online suppliers and are available at garden centers.
