The Michael Griffiths

03/11/2026

Using your garden for fireworks this week? Check the clock first 🎆

Most of the year it’s 7am to 11pm. Bonfire Night you get until midnight, and New Year’s Eve, Diwali and Chinese New Year until 1am.

Then look after the garden too. Check bonfire piles for hedgehogs before you light them, keep rockets well away from trees and hedges, and rake up any debris the next morning so it doesn’t end up in your borders or the pond 🦔

Save this for Thursday 👇

01/11/2026

November gardening jobs 🍂 A few hours this month and your garden will thank you in spring.

🌷 Get the last spring bulbs into pots
🌸 Lift dahlias before the frost
🪴 Refresh pots for winter colour
🍂 Bag leaves for free leaf mould
🪑 Clean and cover garden furniture
🌱 Mulch beds to protect the soil

Save this for the weekend and follow for next month’s jobs. Which one’s top of your list? 👇

31/10/2026

30/10/2026

Thank you to everyone who signed up, commented and messaged after my last post 💚

I wasn’t sure how it would land, but thousands of you said the same thing: less noise, more of what actually helps in the garden.

So that’s exactly what my free monthly email will be. The right jobs at the right time, straight to your inbox. The first issue goes out on Sunday 1 November and I can’t wait!

Want in? Comment JOBS and I’ll send you the link 🪴

26/10/2026

One clump, two or three new plants, and it costs you nothing 🌱

Dividing perennials while the soil’s still warm gives the roots time to settle before winter. Daylilies, hostas, hardy geraniums and catmint all split happily now.

Leave late bloomers like asters and most grasses until spring, though. They prefer to be split as they wake up.

Save this for your next weekend in the garden. Which plant are you splitting first?

24/10/2026

Carving a pumpkin this week? Don’t bin the seeds 🎃

They’re a free crop sitting in the middle of your pumpkin. No soil, no garden, just a plate on the windowsill, and you’ll be snipping fresh greens in a week or so.

It’s a brilliant one to do with the kids after Halloween, because they can watch the roots appear day by day.

Send this to whoever’s carving the pumpkins in your house 👇

22/10/2026

I've made every gardening mistake going, so you don't have to 🌱

Most of it comes down to timing. Do the right job at the right time and your garden practically looks after itself. But with social media chasing hooks and gimmicks, my tips often reach you too late.

So I'm starting a free monthly email with exactly what to do in the garden that month. No faff, no jargon.

Comment JOBS and I'll send you the link 🪴

21/10/2026

Rusty secateurs don’t need replacing 🍂

Clean, sharp blades cut stems cleanly, so they heal faster. Blunt or dirty blades crush stems and can pass disease from one plant to the next.

Do it now, before they go in the shed for winter, and they’ll be ready to go in spring.

Save this for when you clear out the shed, and follow for more easy jobs that save you money 🪴

What’s the oldest tool you still use?

19/10/2026

Sweet chestnuts are free right now, if you know where to look 🌰

Don’t pull them off the tree. Wait until they drop, then grab them from the ground. They’re spiky, so a fruit collector saves your fingers. You’ve got until about mid November.

Send this to whoever you’re foraging with this weekend 👇

17/10/2026

You don’t need a garden this big to steal its autumn plan 🍂

When you’ve got thousands of bulbs to plant and hedges that take weeks to cut, you can’t wing it. The same rules work in any garden:

🌷 Get bulbs in while the soil’s still warm
✂️ Do the big jobs first, before the weather turns
🍂 Leaves go on the beds, not in the bin
🗓️ Break it into small jobs over a few weekends

What’s top of your autumn list?