Gardening tips and advice: October 2025

10 October 2025, by Abbie Jones, Landscape Gardener at Furzey Gardens

I’m Abbie, and together with my colleague Alex, I’ve recently taken on the role of caring for and guiding these beautiful gardens. We’re part of a wider team that supports people with learning disabilities to develop their skills and confidence through gardening, something that makes this place truly special. Between us, we bring experience, enthusiasm and a deep respect for this remarkable garden. Each month, I’ll be sharing our seasonal gardening advice, along with highlights and observations from across the team, including tips and insights from our gardeners with learning disabilities, who play such an important part in the life of Furzey.

As we settle into our new roles, it’s a timely reminder that this season brings change for gardeners everywhere. October is a time of transition — both for gardens and for those who tend them. The days shorten, the mornings grow colder, the light softens, and the garden begins to wind down after the intensity of summer growth. It’s easy to think of autumn purely as an ending, but in many ways it’s a beginning: the soil is still warm, the moisture is returning, and it’s one of the best times to plant for the year ahead. Our assisted volunteer gardener Harrison puts it perfectly:

“I like October, I like it when it’s colder, the brown and orange colours are nice to see. It’s a good time to start pruning and cutting back if you haven’t already. Collecting seeds too and raising the mower deck is a good idea when the grass starts slowing down.”

Harrison’s words remind us that autumn is as much about preparing as it is about enjoying.

Autumn is the ideal season for planting trees, shrubs and perennials. The warmth lingering in the soil helps new roots establish before winter, meaning plants get a head start in spring. If you’ve been considering adding structure to your garden, now is the time. Think about trees for autumn colour – acers, liquidambar or nyssa sylvatica – which will reward you year after year with dazzling displays like those we see at Furzey. 

Harrison, Volunteer Assistant Gardener in front of Disanthus cercidiphyllum

As herbaceous borders begin to fade, cut back perennials that have collapsed or turned mushy. However, try to leave upright seed heads and ornamental grasses, which add structure to the winter garden and provide food and shelter for wildlife. Plants like echinacea, rudbeckia and miscanthus stand beautifully frosted in the colder months. Gardening with wildlife in mind often means embracing a little untidiness. As Harrison says, keep some corners “messy” for nature.

It may feel like a chore to rake up fallen leaves, but think of it as gathering treasure. Pile them into a wire-frame bin or even black sacks pierced with holes at the bottom, and by next autumn you’ll have rich, crumbly leaf mould – one of the best soil improvers you can make for free!

If you grow dahlias, cannas or tender salvias, the first frost will blacken their foliage. As soon as this happens, lift the tubers or rhizomes, dry them off, and store them somewhere cool, dark and frost-free until next spring. Alternatively, in milder gardens, you can take a chance by mulching them deeply and leaving them in the ground.

Autumn treeline at Furzey Gardens

If you have a vegetable patch, there’s still plenty happening. Continue harvesting squash, pumpkins and late beans before the frosts, and sow broad beans or hardy peas for an early crop next year. Garlic and onions can also go into the ground now.

Furzey wears autumn magnificently. The woodland glades glow with Japanese maples, their leaves turning from lime green to fiery crimson. The katsura trees release their sweet, caramel scent as their heart-shaped leaves fall – a small detail that stops many visitors in their tracks. Late-flowering salvias are still buzzing with bees, while drifts of colchicums (autumn crocus) surprise us with lilac blooms among the fading foliage.

By the pond, the reflective water mirrors the glowing canopy above, while textures take centre stage: hostas yellowing, grasses catching the low sun, evergreens stepping forward as the season advances.

Generations before us have planted trees that are now at their peak, and it is our responsibility to plant and plan for the generations to come. Just as the garden shifts into its autumn phase, Alex and I step into our new roles with excitement, ready to guide Furzey through its seasons.

Autumn is not simply the garden going to sleep – it is the garden preparing for renewal. By planting now, tidying with wildlife in mind, and enjoying the spectacle of colour and light, you’ll set your garden up for a thriving year ahead. And if you’d like some inspiration, a walk around Furzey this October will offer plenty of it.

Our annual Apple Day returns on Saturday 18 October. Visitors to the gardens on this day can enjoy plenty of family fun, apple pressing and advice from local experts on the care and identification of apples from their garden. Pre-booking in advance is advised.

As we head towards October half term, kids can enjoy the magic of autumn with ‘The Great Garden Spin’. Running from Saturday 25 October to Sunday 2 November, 10am – 2pm, children will craft their own paper windmill, then use it to explore autumn in the gardens. Pre-booking is not required for the activity, however pre-booking garden entrance on-line in advance is recommended www.furzey-gardens.org.

However you enjoy autumn I hope to see some of you in the gardens to enjoy natures wonderful firework display. We are open seven days a week, 10am – 4pm. See you soon.

Autumn colours of Disanthus cercidiphyllum

This article originally appeared as the monthly In The Garden column in the Lymington Times, buy the paper on the second Friday of every month to read the next column first.