We have been very lucky to have such beautiful displays of autumn colours for so long this year.

But finally the winds are winning and they are falling rapidly. Beautiful as they are they can be a nuisance clogging ponds, making paths slippery and smothering grass.

If you aren’t able to get your hands on a leaf blower a rubber rake is a great tool for gathering leaves from lawns and paths or a spring-tined rake can be just as effective.

Large plastic grabbers make it easy to lift piles of leaves in one go into a wheelbarrow ready to add them to your existing compost heap.

For larger quantities of leaves start a leaf only heap by making a cage hammering four posts into the ground to form a square and tacking wire netting around them.

You can then add your gathered leaves to the cage as you collect them to make leaf mould.

Leaf mould is an invaluable resource in the garden being a good source of fibre helping soil to both retain moisture and improve drainage and will be ready to use within a year.

Nerines

I have nerine envy! The brilliant pink flowers are so eye catching appearing in September and lasting until November they also make a great cut flower I must have some in my garden.

Nerine bowdenii, common name Cornish lily is a member of the Amarylis family and originates from South Africa the bulbs being sent to Britain in 1904.

When planting these elongated, bottle shaped bulbs in autumn make sure the roots are spread out and only the bottom half of the bulb is below compost level.

They prefer well drained soil in full sun, a sunny south facing wall would be ideal as the more baking they have in the summer sun the more flowers you will get in the autumn.

They also do well in pots but try to avoid moving them once planted. If you have no flowers just foliage in the first year don’t worry they will flower the next year and many years to come.

The bulbs don’t need dividing they flower better when congested. Don’t plant next to narcissus daffodils.