One sign of a serious gardener is that they haven't yet put away their trowel and are eagerly planting hardy perennials, shrubs and trees in the knowledge that they will see the benefit next year.

Autumn is the time of the root and is one of our busiest times for sending out plant orders.

All plants need a well-established root system that runs deep into the soil and will sustain them come thick or thin, flood or drought. In autumn, the temperature cools and the top growth slows or even dies back, but soils are still warm from a summer of slow heat absorption and will stay that way for some time. Placed in this warm and usually moist environment, and with little top growth to support, plants concentrate their energy on reaching their roots down and out, creating a network that will sustain them for a lifetime.

In addition, you are released from the chore of watering your newly planted plants (after an initial soak), which would not be the case if you were planting in spring or summer. Nature will provide sufficient moisture while they quietly establish, and you can watch them really take off next season.

Happy planting!