THIS cold, wet autumn may not seem to be the best of seasons for gardening, but in fact this is the perfect time to be planting bare-rooted trees and shrubs, and in particular roses. The soil is still relatively warm (and it's definitely moist) so that roses planted now will begin to form good root systems before any really cold weather sets in. They will thus be in good condition to shoot away at the first sign of warmth in spring, stealing a march on roses not planted until February or March.

In the past I have always bought my roses from David Austin Roses near Wolverhampton. They have a good mail order service and a huge range of roses, both modern and old-fashioned. The good news for Cumbrians is that we now have our own local source of David Austin roses, in the shape of Iain Billot. Iain is based at Heskett Newmarket, where he sells bare-rooted roses from November to April, and pot-grown roses from May until July, all chosen to suit the Cumbrian climate. Iain offers a full pruning and planting service and is always happy to offer advice on which varieties to plant and how to care for them. In a previous life he was Head Gardener at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire, a garden famed for its roses, so he should know what he is talking about.

Autumn is also bulb planting time for the gardener. This year, inspired by a photograph of drifts of tulips at Prince Charles' garden at Highgrove, I ordered 300 tulip bulbs in three different shades of purple. I had intended to mix the colours together, and to plant them in the verge outside our house, so that passers by could appreciate the rich tapestry of colours in the spring. But faced with a huge pile of 300 bulbs, a soggy grass bank and a very small trowel, I chickened out and planted them in the vegetable garden instead!

This is not as daft as it soundsmy vegetable plot is quite formal, with small bark pathways and wooden-edged beds, so it lends itself to cut-flower planting as well as vegetables. It occurred to me that most of the beds lie empty until May, when the main vegetable growing season begins. Why not fill one of these empty beds with spring flowering bulbs? When planting tulip or daffodil bulbs in a formal display it pays to make sure that the soil has been well composted and forked over beforehand. Space out all the bulbs on the soil surface before starting to plant, that way the display will be even and regular. Plant the bulbs at a depth of around two to three times the height of the bulb (for a 2ins tulip bulb that's 4-6ins deep). Then sit back and wait until spring when the show begins!

l David Austin roses from Iain Billot, Stewart Hill Barn, near Heskett Newmarket. Tel 017684 84172 Nursery opening times, Thursday to Sunday, 1pm to 5pm.

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_ Begin cutting down and tidying up herbaceous plants, as they start to die down. Leave seed heads for as long as possible, as food for seed-eating birds like goldfinches.

_ Take hardwood cuttings of soft-fruit bushes such as gooseberries and currants. Cut nine-inch lengths of firm, ripened shoots, place in four to six inches of sandy soil in a sheltered spot outdoors. They will root slowly and be ready to transplant by next autumn.

_ Shorten any long shoots on rose bushes, to prevent high winds from rocking them and damaging the roots.