Officially, summer doesn’t end until the third week of September.
But there have been colder days (and nights). And the rain. Though much appreciated after weeks of dry weather, the day-long showers, coupled with browning leaves and fading flowers, do dampen the spirit of even the most optimistic gardeners.
This is often when I need a boost. Something to look forward to. Bright flowers, even if I have to wait till springtime. New plants to squeeze into the future gaps. Exciting plans for next year to formulate.
So I pick up these future-proof jobs around the garden in September. Even if it’s getting cold, windy, and rainy, the implication of more plants, healthier soil, fewer expenses and a better garden next year brings me joy.
Here are the five future-proof tasks you can do from now through into the depth of autumn.
1. Collect Seeds
If there are plants in your garden that performed particularly well this year, autumn is the time to think about saving their seeds.
Why Saving The Seeds?
- Little saved seeds are a testament to your planting and care efforts.
- By saving seeds, you don’t need to order new ones next year, cutting costs for your bank account and the environment.
- Over time, growing new plants from saved seeds increases the number of plants with the genetic traits of those that perform well in your particular garden. These can be plants with preferred colours, taste or the ability to survive the winter.
Note that with herbs like coriander, basil, and parsley, which are mostly grown for leaves, collecting seeds is a trade-off.
- If you consistently prune off flowers as soon as they appear, you won’t have any seeds to collect, but the plants tend to produce more leaves for the kitchen.
- If you leave some flowers to set seed, you can collect them for free and replace tender plants that are likely to die off during the cold winter (at least in the northern part where I am gardening).
- If you strike a balance, you can have both an abundance of leaves and some seeds. Yet autumn weather is the worst for tender herbs, as you might find a seemingly strong plant you are saving for seeds drop all its leaves and its will to survive after just one sudden cold, wet night.
Personally, I particularly enjoy collecting chubby seeds like peas or nasturtiums. It is simply because they are much easier to handle and rather cute.
Whatever seeds you collect, remember to pick from healthy plants and let them dry thoroughly (not in direct sunlight) before storing them.
It’s best to put them into labelled paper envelopes. Note both the plant and the year collected. You will appreciate thorough note-taking when spring comes, and you want to grow everything.
I sometimes reuse the plastic containers we received with our nut and dried fruit bulk orders to store the collected seeds. However, if you do use airtight containers like those, it is really important to make sure everything is completely dry before long-term storage.
2. Take Cuttings
Seeds aren’t the only way to create next year’s plants.
Autumn is also a useful time to propagate some herbs and shrubs from cuttings.
Taking cuttings means you can propagate new plants from established ones, often more quickly than sowing seeds.
Depending on the plant and timing, suitable candidates to take cuttings can include:
The basics of taking cuttings:
- Pick healthy, non-flowering growth.
- Make the cut using a sharp, clean instrument.
- Remove the bottom leaves before popping the cuttings into a glass of water.
- Change the water as regularly as you can remember, and watch for the roots.
- Not every cutting will succeed, so take several.
Once a healthy amount of roots form, place the cuttings in a free-draining medium and keep them somewhere protected while they grow stronger.
With hardy plants, I sometimes stick a cutting directly into the soil outside, leaving it there over the autumn and winter. It saves me a lot of time, energy and lost hope to just forget about it and come back for a little check (tugging at the cutting) later in spring. The success rate is lower when I go down that route, but I have had success, so I still do it with some of my cuttings.
3. Gather Fallen Leaves Inside a Designated Frame
Fallen leaves can look like garden mess, but they are not.
They can be turned into leaf mould, which can eventually be used as:
- mulch
- soil improver
- a moisture-retaining material
- an ingredient for potting mixes when sufficiently mature
All you need for it to happen is an attitude change and a dedicated place where the collected leaves can slowly break down.
You can make a simple frame for the gathered leaves from:
- wire mesh
- wooden stakes
- recycled timber
- other suitable garden materials
Put the fallen leaves in the frame (instead of the municipal organic-waste bin). Keep the leaves reasonably moist, and you may need to water the decomposing material during a drought. Then nature will do the rest, breaking them down into organic mulch you can use to amend your soil, add to a potting mix, and mulch bare ground to help retain moisture.
Enjoy my garden writing? Buy my a coffee (or a bag of seeds)
4. Give Your Soil Some Attention
Once summer crops finish, don’t simply leave the soil to fend for itself.
Autumn is an excellent time to replenish and protect the ground before winter.
If you have bare areas, add a layer of organic matter such as:
- homemade compost
- well-rotted manure
- mature leafmould
- suitable organic mulch
You don’t necessarily need to dig it into the soil.
A surface layer can gradually break down while protecting the soil underneath.
Organic matter can help improve:
- soil structure
- moisture retention
- nutrient availability
- biological activity
- resilience during dry and wet periods
Don’t Forget Containers
The same principle applies to container gardening.
For perennial plants that remain in their containers, a top dressing of fresh compost or appropriate organic material can help maintain growing conditions.
5. Plant for Springtime
Perhaps the most exciting job at the moment is planting for a season you can’t see yet.
Spring bulbs are a perfect example.
Planting bulbs in autumn means you can enjoy flowers months later, often when the rest of the garden is still waking up from winter.
For a small garden, look for bulbs that give you plenty of impact without requiring much space.
You can grow them:
- in containers
- along borders
- beneath deciduous shrubs
- beside paths
- in small gaps between established plants
Think beyond a single burst of colour, too.
Choose different bulbs with different flowering times so that your garden has something happening from early to late spring.
Think Vertically and in Layers
Small gardens benefit from planting in layers.
Bulbs can occupy space beneath shrubs and perennials, while climbers use walls and fences above them.
This means the same small patch of ground can contribute to the garden at different times of the year.
That’s the real advantage of autumn planting:
you’re not just filling today’s garden—you are designing tomorrow’s garden.
Why “Future-Proof” Tasks
The other day, I saw a library book in the section for 6- to 9-year-olds (my son’s age group). Translated roughly into English, its Dutch title means “The Value of the Wait”. The book is divided into sections, ranging from the rewards of a one-week wait to the rewards of a one-year wait. I thought it is such a nice thing to teach kids, as most kids, my son included, tend to find it hard to wait for something. For an adult, it’s also good to be reminded that not everything has or needs an immediate reward.
That’s exactly what lies behind these five garden jobs.
You collect a handful of seeds, but they won’t become plants until next season.
You take cuttings, but they may take months to develop roots.
You gather leaves, but your leaf mould may take a full year (or longer) to mature.
You improve your soil, but the benefits accumulate gradually.
And bulbs planted in autumn disappear underground before eventually reappearing in spring.
Yet that’s precisely what makes these jobs valuable.
