Weekend work: Cuttings

LAY new turf so the grass can settle during the winter. Dig over the ground, get rid of all weeds and rake the tilth so the surface is even. Use a line to keep the turves straight and lay so the joints are staggered, like brickwork. Sift soil into any gaps and firm down the turves by banging them with a rake head.

Bare patches in lawns can be repaired, either with turf or lawn seed. Choose a mixture with ryegrass in areas where lawns get heavy wear. There are also seed mixtures which contain slow-growing grasses, especially useful for steep slopes or wild flower meadows.

Fill some containers outside with plants for winter interest. Heathers such as white 'Lyonesse' and pink 'St Keverne' flower through the autumn. White 'Springwood' and pink 'King George' pick up the baton in December. Use a compost suitable for acid-loving plants.

Variegated ivies and dwarf hebes will provide good foliage

contrast.

If you are going for wallflowers, look for plants that are bushy and compact, with their growing tips pinched out. Wallflowers have done as much growing as they are going to by the time they are planted out. A plant that is scrawny now will still be scrawny in spring.

Moss growth accelerates as grass growth slows, so if you do not like moss in the lawn, treat it now with a residual moss killer. I actually like its vivid, slightly evil green and the feeling it gives of walking on dough.

Divide and replant clumps of chives and mint. Rake up fallen leaves. If you have room, stack them in a separate compost heap or pack into plastic sacks to rot down over winter. Leaf mould is an excellent mulch.

Lift dahlia tubers after stems have been blackened by frost. Cut dahlia stems back to an inch and leave to dry for a week or so. Then dust with a fungicide such as flowers of sulphur and pack in boxes of damp sand. Store in a place free from frost.

In the south and west of the country, tubers can be left in the ground, mulched over the top with a thick layer of leaves.