For some people Autumn signals the end of the gardening season, but very often the weather at this time of the year can be very good, making it a pleasure to potter about. There are always a few jobs to be done and much of the work that you do now will make your garden look better and easier to look after next year.

With the cooler weather summer flowering bedding plants will be coming to an end and can be removed from the garden and containers. To keep colour in the garden replace them with a selection of autumn and winter flowering plants such as dwarf chrysanthemums, pansies and heathers.

Lawns are also slowing down now and it is time to prepare them for the winter by feeding them with an autumn lawn fertiliser. This feed is designed to build up the root system of the lawn and to induce winter hardiness and disease resistance. Instant results are not seen after giving the feed as lush grass growth is not encouraged, but come next spring the lawn will start the season in a much healthier condition. Remember, feeding at this time of the year needs to be with an autumn lawn fertiliser and under no circumstances should you use the leftovers of the spring feed.

Autumn generates garden waste and this can all be used to make garden compost. Woody pruning and thick herbaceous stems on their own are not suitable for adding to the compost heap, but when passed through the powerful Pac a Shredder the chippings will rot down much faster. The Pac a Shredder will cut through stems with a diameter of up to 40mm and collect them neatly in the 62 litre bin.

If you have worn patches on the lawn, October is an ideal time to carry out easy and fast repairs with turf and many garden centres now stock good quality turf. Simply lift the bare patch, lightly fork the top couple of inches of soil and cut a piece of turf to fit the hole, making sure that the turf is firmed down and level with the surrounding lawn. Keep the turf patches watered and in just a few weeks they will root into the soil.

Hedges cut in October will remain neat and tidy right the way through until early next summer. Flymo have a wide range of electric, cordless and petrol hedgetrimmers suitable for the smallest to the largest of hedges.