What would you like to sow?

October is a month when the garden begins to slow down, but there's still plenty you can sow. As the days become shorter and cooler, it's a good time to concentrate on hardy vegetables, winter salads and crops that can cope with the colder months ahead.

Try winter lettuces, spinach, rocket, broad beans and other hardy salad leaves. Some spring onions and oriental vegetables can also be sown now, especially if you have a greenhouse, cold frame or some protection as temperatures begin to fall.

It's a good time for flowers and wildflowers too. Hardy annuals such as cornflowers, calendula and nigella can be autumn sown, while wildflower seeds such as yellow rattle benefit from experiencing natural winter conditions before germinating.