Give the lawn a good rake with a spring tine rake or powered scarifier to remove dead thatch and moss. You can either add the leaves to your compost or produce leafmould which can be used as soil.

Cut back you herbaceous plants (the ones that come back every year) to the ground, although leave your flowering grasses and those with interesting seed heads for a show in the winter frosts.

It’s never too early to plan for next year – split/divide and move herbaceous plants while the soil is still warm. If you’re looking to plant some bare root fruit trees then you will need to get them ordered now training them as cordons, or espaliers will take up less space than large trees.

Contact the seed companies to get a catalogue, then on those damp days you can start planning what to grow next year.

Pick your apples and get them stored somewhere cool and dry, some store better than others so its best to keep checking regularly.