Nature & Garden

Hedgehog sightings are plummeting as September arrives, leaving gardeners wondering where their spiny visitors have gone. The truth is stark: modern gardens lack the wild corners, invertebrate-rich undergrowth, and shelter these creatures need to prepar...

The chocolate vine is one of the most vigorous and intriguing climbers you can grow, twining rapidly over pergolas, arches and shady walls with elegant fingered leaves made up of five neat leaflets. In mid-spring it produces curious maroon-chocolate flowers<...

Frost-blackened perennial foliage looks like garden carnage in September, but resist the urge to tidy it up. Cutting back dead-looking stems now exposes the crowns to harsh winter frost, potentially killing plants that would otherwise survive. Wait until late winter to prune, and your

Few bulbs deliver such a jolt of pure gold at the fag end of the growing year as Sternbergia lutea. Its goblet-shaped, crocus-like flowers push up through bare soil in September and October, held on short stems above strappy dark green leaves, l...

Most gardeners harvest pumpkins far too early, stripping vines weeks before peak ripeness. Picking now, in September, means watery flesh, bland flavour, and poor storage life come October. This week, learn the precise ripeness signals that separate mediocre pumpkins from genuinely delicious ones, and why patience pays dividends.