Autumn - a good time to plan your garden

Autumn is here, there is a chill in the evenings and planting time is almost upon us. Now is the time to prepare for planting bare-root trees and hedges. The place to start is to make a plan on paper of what to plant, large or small trees, shrubs or hedges and where to plant them. Do you need shelter from winds, a screen for privacy, a specimen tree for a particular location or a rich planting of flowering shrubs that will give you colour and interest over several seasons? Don't try to get down to too much detail at first, just the broad strokes - a native hedge here, a tall upright tree there, a pair of round-crowned small trees to either side of the path, a bed of spiky-leaved perennials here...

November is the start of the bare-root planting time and once you have your plans made you get to the fun part - choosing and ordering your plants. Don't forget that this is also the season for planting fruit trees and bushes, as well as smaller shrubs, roses and bulbs.