GINA PARKINSON finds that October brings its own rewards in the garden.

OCTOBER has come round again and the weather is still mild, with the cold snap we had last weekend coming as a shock. It was enough to start the trees turning and although we might mourn the passing of summer, cool clear autumn days filled with flaming trees are amongst the most beautiful of the year.

We have a small tree in our front garden, Snowy Mespilus, or to give it its botanical name, Amelanchier. This tree can grow to 4.5 metres or more in time but regular pruning will keep it smaller, hence it often being recommended for smaller gardens. I have also seen it grown as hedging - inter trimming keeps it neat and won't affect spring flowers and new bronze leaves.

After its attractive start to the year, amelanchier steps back from the limelight for the summer before coming to the fore again in autumn with a splendid display of bright leaves that gradually change to vivid red before falling.

October garden action

THERE is much to be done in the garden while the conditions remain clement. Baskets and containers will be hanging on to the last flowers of the summer bedding but are likely to be looking past their best.

Winter bedding is available now from market stalls and in garden centres. There is a wide range to choose from including pansies, winter flowering heather, violas, ivies, evergreen grasses and ornamental cabbages.

Planting layers of spring bulbs in the pot as it is filled with compost and adding spring bedding amongst the winter plants will help it to stay interesting through winter and into spring.

A container simply filled with wallflowers looks stunning in a sunny spot in spring and although the foliage droops for the first few days after planting, it soon picks up and provides a mass of evergreen leaves throughout winter.

Out in the garden tender gladioli should be lifted once the leaves begin to brown. Carefully loosen the soil around the plant and prise the corms from the ground. Knock off the soil, remove all the foliage and leave the corms to dry in a cool, frost-free place.

Dahlias will probably need to be lifted this month. Wait until the foliage has been blackened by frost, then cut back stems and foliage to about 15cm from the ground. Loosen and lift the tubers and remove loose soil; it isn't necessary to wash them. Then hang upside down in a dry place to dry off for about two weeks. Once dry, store in moist soil in a cool frost-free place.

Continue to plant spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils and crocus, but leave tulips until November or even December to lessen the chance of frost damage to the shoots.

Plant the bulbs in drifts around the garden rather than rigid rows and think about how the dying foliage of daffodils in particular can be disguised once flowering is over later next spring.

It is best not to cut off this dead foliage until it is completely brown, which can look unsightly especially when there are a lot of bulbs.

One way of hiding the leaves is to grow the bulbs near or through other plants that will provide cover or detract the eye. Deciduous shrubs, for example, provide a framework of bare stems as daffodils come into flower in March but by the time they are fading, the shrubs are well on with producing foliage and possibly flowers depending on species.

Hardy perennials such as geraniums are also useful, with their new foliage covering the ground by late spring.

Dicentra spectabilis is, as its name suggests, a spectacular plant with ferny foliage and long arching stems from which hang red and white or pure white heart-shaped flowers in May. A good candidate to use as a distraction from messy daffodil foliage.

Updated: 16:48 Friday, October 10, 2003