Don 't be a couch potato in autumn Head (From Campaign Series)

Don 't be a couch potato in autumn Head

10:40am Thursday 19th October 2006

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Autumn can be a wonderful time in the garden - I love it!

It may require a change of attitude to get the best out of this time of year; it is very easy to slip into a kind of 'horticultural hibernation', when you see summer plants starting to die off.

You could just give up, switch off, pick up the remote control, pull the curtains and say Tara to the garden until next March..but you don 't want to do that!

It 's not the endit 's the beginning, of an exciting new season, and here are two reasons why it 's exciting: 1. It 's the best time to plant.

The soil is still warm, but thanks to recent exceedingly generous helpings of rain, it is also moist. These factors, combined with cooler air, make for perfect planting conditions, so there is less stress for any newly planted trees and shrubs.

In fact if you go back 50 years; which I can 't (I 'm far too young) but my beloved probably could..! You would find that autumn was the only time that you could buy and plant a lot of shrubs (they used to grow them in the ground - then dig them up in the autumn).

It 's only since the advent of growing plants in pots, and the arrival of garden centres, that you can now buy and plant them all year round.

So if you have been thinking about attacking that border all summer, but have been delaying your project because of hot weather and rock hard soil - it would appear that you are fast running out of excuses!

2. Fiery autumn colours You can see it starting, on some of the trees already; a little flush of yellow or a vivid red fading to orange. Then the more you look for it, the more you can see.

I love the way different trees change at different times, so we can enjoy an ever changing patchwork of autumn colours in gardens and on the hillsides over the next few weeks.

When you are out and about the valleys this week check out the leaves - theirs is a live performance and its absolutely free!

The good news is that no matter how small your garden, you can introduce some plants that will give you some glorious autumn colour. Probably the most popular family of plants for autumn colour are Japanese Maples (the Acer Palmatum family).

There are a huge variety of leaf colours in this family of trees , in fact most of the more popular Japanese maples are grown as bushy shrubs - maybe reaching only three to four feet after ten years.

They have two main requirements: 1. A shady and sheltered spot. Ideal for that shady corner where nothing else seems to grow.

2. Lime free (Ericaceous) compost, which sounds a bit of a mouthful, but it is readily available.

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