As I write this in late October the nights may be closing in, but temperatures are still well up. As a result the soil is still warm and moist, so now is an ideal time to move things around in the garden. Evergreen shrubs can be dug up but retain the largest root ball you can manage. Digging a trench around the plant first will help. Replant and water in thoroughly. Herbaceous perennials can also be divided (free plants!) and moved. Click HERE if you want Alan Titchmarsh to show you how best to do this.

Don’t be a tidy-freak. Leave tall perennials like asters, rudbeckias and teasels to die back as they’ll provide seeds for hungry birds, shelter for insects, and look beautiful on frosty winter mornings. Some perennials don’t like being cut back, as the dead top growth provides them with some protection from frost; fuschias and penstemons for example. Plants with hollow stems, such as verbena, should also not be cut back as the cut stem will collect water and the plant may rot and die.

Lily bulbs can be planted into pots. The potting mix should ideally be quite gritty (well drained) and I typically bed the bulbs on a couple of centimetres of sand – they hate sitting in wet soil. Tulips can also be planted now, and will also welcome sitting on a bed of sand.

If you have a compost heap then use it; get rotted organic matter out onto beds as a winter mulch. If you don’t have much to play with then concentrate on protecting the likes of dahlias and cannas from the wet and cold by piling a few inches of compost on them once the first frosts have killed off the top growth.

You have probably harvested your squashes and pumpkins, so will be left with a large area of bare soil. Rather than leave this to the mercy of the winter weather why not plant a green manure crop like field beans or winter rye? This will protect the soil structure through the winter and can either be dug in next spring, or simply cut off the top growth and allow the roots to rot down and nourish the soil. No digging required!

Garlic does best if it’s in the ground through a prolonged period of cold, so get it in now. Split the bulbs into individual cloves and plant 10cm deep in light soil, or 3cm deep in heavy soil, with the cloves 25cm apart. Winter onion sets can also be planted now if your soil is not too heavy. All you have to do is push the set about 2cm into the loose soil – Simples. Many local garden centres sell onion sets loose – they cost very little.

Fallen leaves should be raked up, but DO NOT put them in your green bin! Leaf mould is also known as Gardener’s Gold. Pile the fallen leaves up and in a year it’ll have transformed into a nutrient-rich mulch, that is wonderful as a soil improver or can even be used as a potting soil mix. Monty Don’s guide to all things leaf mouldy can be viewed HERE.