JOBS TO DO THIS WEEK.

| A crisp, sunny autumn day is a good time to go out and do a bit of pruning. Inspect trees and shrubs for dead or diseased branches and remove. Remember to leave acers and birches until mid-winter as any other time, they can bleed sap. Save twigs and branches for Bonfire Night.

| Tender plants like salvias can be dug up, potted and put in a frostfree conservatory for the winter.

| Cover the crowns of tender plants that you are leaving outside with a thick dry mulch. | Make sure to get some spring bulbs planted - even a few in a pot or window box will delight you next year. | Wrap up bananas, tree ferns and other tender species you are leaving outside for winter - horticultural fleece or straw with hessian is good.

| Ponds need attention before winter sets in. Remove and clean the pump if you have one. Thin out oxygenating plants if these have taken over and remove old leaves and debris from the bottom.