In the garden this week: Autumn bulbs, and hoes

Autumn blooms Autumn bulbs are a strange lot. Colchicums are known as "naked ladies" as they appear with no leaves, big blooms straight out of the ground, welcome at a time when the rest of the garden is waning. Nerines are an almost too vibrant pink firework of a flower, harder to place among muted autumn colours. Now is the time to pop them in the ground. Try Broadleigh Gardens . Hoe's that It's the easy way to weed, but your hoe is also your secret watering weapon. Hoeing breaks zup and fills in the water-swallowing cracks that appear in really dry weather, and stops a water-resistant crust from forming. Water seeps easily down into the crumbly tilth. Also use your hoe to create ridges around plants, so that water cannot run away, and to make ditches within which to plant, so that water is concentrated where it is needed.