As we head into September after a record-breaking summer and drought, autumn provides a transitional month to reset our gardens after a dry and tinderbox few months. With hope of rainfall and sunshine, our gardens can reset, with autumn being the perfect time to plant and plan in your outdoor space. September is a special transitional month and one of the best months in the gardening calendar, as the soil is still warm, and new plants can establish in cooler days. There is still plenty to keep you busy to prepare for winter, and the team at British Garden Centres has put together a guide on why now is the perfect golden quarter of the year.

Perfect for trees and shrubs: September onwards is the sweet spot when the soil is still warm, and hopefully with a little rain, so new roots will develop quickly and get your new plants established, giving them a head start before spring arrives. Trees like maples, acers, oak, dogwood and magnolia can all be planted now to establish their root systems.

Shrubs like hydrangeas and roses are ideal autumn contenders, as those planted in the coming weeks will often establish faster and outperform those planted in the new year. Likewise, azaleas, camellias, forsythia, lilac, holly and witch hazel can be planted now to ensure a riot of colour after the depths of winter.

We recommend adding mulch around the base after you plant, like compost or bark chippings, to stop the weeds from growing and keep the root system cool and moist until next year.

Ideal for spring bulbs: After the dark days of January, what is better than seeing snowdrops and crocuses poking their heads through the soil to herald spring has begun? The key to this is getting your spring bulbs in the ground or containers now in autumn to give them the best chance to use their energy to bloom in the new year. Whether its Whether it’s tulips, daffodils, alliums or hyacinths, planting your bulbs whilst the soil is still warm gives them the best start. Spring bulbs are readily available in garden centres from the end of August and are easy to grow and extremely versatile, coming back year after year in containers and borders.

A second growing season: Autumn, with its cooler days and nights, can often suit some vegetables that may bolt in the summer heat. These kinds of climes mean you can plant autumn-hardy onions, shallots and garlic sets for harvest early next year. Winter and spring cabbage, purple sprouting broccoli, little gem lettuce and chicory can all be sown now also for fresh produce that overwinters.

August and September are exactly the right time to plant vegetables that can be harvested in time for your Christmas dinner and ready to lift in around 12 weeks. Potato varieties for Christmas include Charlotte, Duke of York, Maris Peer and Pentland Javelin, which can be planted now with a view to being ready by the end of the year. Carrots are also a Christmas lunch staple, so there is just enough time left to sow a quick crop of short-rooted varieties such as Chantenay, Oxheart and Round, which take 12–16 weeks to mature and store well for Christmas.

Tasks for spring success

Autumn is maintenance time too, to make sure your garden is in tip-top shape for 2027. September is the best month to sow grass seed. It is the perfect temperature, and the cooler days mean your grass can get off to a good start, which is important following the extreme hot weather we’ve had this summer. Aeration is key, especially as the ground is compacted and tinderbox dry, and we do have rainfall. It is a simple process of perforating the soil with a garden fork to create small holes in your lawn to allow air, water, and nutrients to penetrate the grass roots, very much needed to avoid puddling and to allow the ground to breathe.

September onwards is also the best time to divide any overgrown perennials as they go dormant and cut back any spent growth from your plants or hedging, meaning that you aren’t racing to catch up in spring instead and your garden wakes up from winter prepared to start its new growth journey. There is also less transplant shock when temperatures are cooler, so if you're dividing your hostas, lilies, peonies, echinacea or sedum, doing it in autumn will mean replanting with minimal stress.

Visual appeal: The garden is a visual treat as autumnal colours come to the fore with a blaze of buttery yellows, copper oranges and fiery reds creating a spectacular sight in any outdoor space. From a textual perspective, this also peaks in gardens in autumn and is a treat for the senses. Ornamental grasses catch the low afternoon light, seed heads and dried blooms add sculptural silhouettes, and the crunch of fallen leaves, conkers and acorns underfoot adds a little treat that isn’t present in other seasons.

For many, the end of summer often spells the end of any gardening activity, but that needn’t be the case as autumn is nature’s time for planting. It’s a beautiful time of year that can be enjoyed in your outdoor space, and with the autumn equinox falling on 23 September, there has never been a better time to think about the transition in your garden.

British Garden Centres (BGC) is the UK’s largest family-owned garden centre group with 80 centres around the country. The group is owned and led by the Stubbs family, who also own and operate Woodthorpe Leisure Park in Lincolnshire.