Boost your wellbeing this October with the National Garden Scheme’s top tips

Why not develop those green fingers of yours as part of your booze-free October? Gardening is not only rewarding but it gets you exercising in the fresh air, positively impacting your wellbeing. While you’re keeping your mind and body healthy through Sober October, these tips will help keep your garden healthy too.

So, whatever the weather, venture outside and get stuck in with the National Garden Scheme’s top tips for October in your garden:

1. Get Tidying

This is the time of year when a small amount of work with the right tools can bring you satisfying results in the garden. Trim branches, sweep up fallen leaves, clear brambles, and carry out path repairs, or to lay new ones – there’s lots to do. Start creating compost!

2. Plant Trees and Hedges

Now is the best time to plant trees as they are able to get their roots settled and established through the winter. This is the best time for planting new hedges too, and they will immediately make your garden look better.

3. Lift Vegetables

Vegetables that you have been growing all summer like beetroot and carrots are about to reward you. However, they can be ruined by being left in wet ground, so they need to be dug up or lifted, and stored ideally in a cool dark shed in a box of dry potting compost.

4. Cover Your Pond

Soon the leaves will be falling fast. If you have a pond, you won't want loads of them decomposing in the water, especially if you have fish, so try and keep it clean. The simplest way is to cover the pond with mesh or netting.

5. Winter Bedding

Brighten things up with some winter bedding plants. They are ideal for tubs, containers and window boxes, and include a variety of plants, from pansies to heathers and small bulbs. They’ll keep you going right through to next spring.

6. Trim Lavender

This is the ideal time to tidy up lavender hedges and bushes with a trim. Cut off just the dead flowering stems - either with secateurs or, for a quicker job, with hand shears. Don't cut any more of the stems with leaves, as they will be susceptible to frost - leave this to the spring instead. You can complete the job by hanging the cut stems up to dry, and then rubbing out the dead flowerheads to produce scented lavender bags.

When you’ve done all the hard work – or if you don’t have a garden - reward yourself by exploring the gorgeous gardens in the National Garden Scheme’s virtual garden visits portfolio on their website.

And, to keep you busy during your sober October, pre-book a ticket to visit a beautiful National Garden Scheme open garden near you.

The National Garden Scheme are Macmillan Cancer Support’s longest standing partner. Over the past 36 years they have donated over £17 million to Macmillan. Through this, the National Garden Scheme have funded 150 vital nurses and professionals, as well as funding towards three cancer information units in Chesterfield, Bristol and most recently in South Wales.