There is still quite a lot to do in the garden this month as the summer disappears and autumn looms on the horizon. Top jobs for September include:

• Cutting down perennials once flowering has finished including phlox, knautia macedonia, astrantia, peonies and crocosmia. Don’t cut down penstemons or sedum varieties such as ‘Purple Emperor’ – let them overwinter with a good mulch and then cut down in the spring.
• Cut back hardy geraniums
• Continue deadheading roses, penstemons and dahlias.
• Divide perennials such as crocosmia – particularly if the flowering has not been that good – as this will encourage better flowers for next year.
• Evergreen hedges including box can be given a final trim before winter sets in.
• Make sure that you raise the height of the cut when mowing the lawn which should now be done less frequently depending on the weather.
• Lawns can be hardened up for winter by applying a potassium-rich autumn feed after scarifying and aerating the lawn first.
• Continue removing dead leaves from pond surfaces and also dead leaves from water lilies as the foliage dies back.