I AM ALWAYS rather relieved when September takes over from August.

During the last few weeks of summer most of the herbaceous plants seem bent on going to seed and it can be quite a battle to keep things flowering in spite of regular dead-heading.

By September there is less need to keep up appearances, since autumn has officially arrived, and the autumn flowering perennials like Rudbeckia, Sedum spectabile and the Kaffir lily, Schizostylis coccinea have begun to distract the visitors attention.

Half-hardy perennials are good value at this time of year.

These are plants from places like South Africa and

the Mediterranean that would be perennials if our climate was warmer.

Since it is not we have to take

cuttings from them each year, to overwinter in the greenhouse.

Salvias, argyranthemums or Marguerites, Helichrysum peiolatum, some of the more tender penstemons, Felicia, verbena, Pelaronium tomentosum, Plectranthus, osteospermums and gazanias will all survive the winter in pots in a cool greenhouse, ready to plant out at soon as the last frosts have gone next spring.

August and September are the best times to take cuttings of half-hardy perennials for next year's displays.

Take pieces of non-flowering stems 3-6 inches long, cutting just below a leaf joint.

Strip off the lower leaves, dip the cut ends in hormone rooting powder and gently insert the cuttings into a pot filled with equal measures of sand and potting compost.

Water in thoroughly, cover the pot with a plastic bag and leave on a warm bench until the cuttings have rooted and start to grow away.

They can then be potted up and kept in the greenhouse until next spring.

If you don't have a greenhouse, you could pot up some of this year's plants from the borders before the cold weather arrives, overwintering them in a porch or conservatory.

They can then be used as 'stock plants' to provide cuttings next spring, which could be rooted on a windowsill and planted straight out into the garden.

The grapevine in the Orangery at Brockhole is suffering from an infestation of scale insects! These are tough, sap-sucking insects with a hard, shiny covering that protects them and makes them very difficult to get rid of.

Not so bad in themselves but they secrete a honeydew, which is attracting hundreds of flies, hoverflies and wasps into the greenhouse.

In an effort to get rid of them all I have sprayed the vine with a non-toxic petroleum oil, which is supposed to bung up the mouthparts of the scale insects and stop them feeding.

I'll let you know how we get on.