There’s a big storm coming. Experts at the met office are tracking the weather systems from the Great Lakes and Florida. It’s likely that they will join up to form a storm and it’s possible that heavy rainfall and wind in excess of 80 mph will hit the UK early on Monday. It’s hard to believe because October has been mild this year with higher than usual temperatures both during the day and at night.
The storm may change course and not hit the UK at all. But who knows? Today is another lovely day with warm sunshine and blue sky… more like September that October. There’s nothing like a warning like this for galvanising gardeners into action.
October is the month to dig up and move your tender plants. The idea is to protect them from frost by moving them into a sheltered place such as a covered porch, greenhouse or conservatory. This year we need to protect them from being battered by wind and rain. I’ve already potted up some herbs but this morning most of my tender plants were still outside. It’s been so mild that I still have huge pots of Geraniums and Petunias in full flower so I’ve moved them under cover… just in case.
I’ll be pruning my shrub roses too. They have a shallow root system and are susceptible to damage by wind so a bit of pruning now will protect them.
If you’d like to know more about the possible storm you can see the full weather warning and a short video explanation on the met office website.
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/news/releases/archive/2013/Severe-storm-risk