The clocks have changed back to “normal” time, the evenings are longer and darker, and so I am not going to write 500 words of exhortation to be out and about, up and doing, etc. in your garden. If you are an autumn “tidier upper”, you will, I hope have done that already. I am sufficiently lazy to leave it all till the spring, when there is a lot less to tidy, most of it having withered away or dried out almost entirely in the intervening months.
Nonetheless, should the weather be decent, now is a very good time to plant roses, as is any time during late autumn and winter, as long as the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. The old trade of selling them “bare root” is still going strong, and bought thus they are cheaper than those ready potted. There is no need to worry about them being more difficult to establish if planted “bare”. Your planting hole should be wide and deep, in order to accommodate the roots nicely spread out, and the now widely available mycorrhizal root powders are a good way of helping the plants establish once they come out of dormancy next spring. The powder should be applied sparingly and in direct contact with the roots. Fill up the hole with a mix of garden soil and a good-quality all-purpose compost, firming gently as you go. It is usually recommended the point where the stem joins the rootstock should ideally be a couple of centimetres below soil level. It’s also a good idea make a little well around the stem to help with watering. As with all new plants, water the rose well, firming the soil a little more as you do (should your garden soil be full of clay, go easy on this).
Especially if you’re interested in old and unusual rose varieties, I recommend Trevor White Roses (trevorwhiteroses.co.uk). His prices are very competitive, and the range of cultivars he sells second-to-none. Have you picked your “last rose of summer” yet? I have: a lovely bloom of “Souvenir de la Malmaison”, a Bourbon bush rose introduced in 1843 that I bought from that nursery a couple of years ago. Her flowers sometimes ball up in wet weather, but they’re worth it: a wonderful scent, a lovely “muddled” bloom, and the palest pink imaginable.
What else is still flowering in your garden? About three years ago, I bought a couple of plants of an aster called “Ashvi”. It’s as tough as old boots, and has now been flowering solidly for over a month, without any sign of falling to bits just yet. It’s about two-foot-six (75cm) tall, and a good, clean white – highly recommended.
Much of the flower garden may be settling down for the winter, but the fruit and vegetable grower never rests. Fruit trees and bushes have entered dormancy, so they can be planted now, while fortunately quite a lot of vegetables are hardy in our climate. Parsnips (which certainly taste better after they’ve been frosted), chard, chicory, and leeks cope pretty well with the cold, as do many members of the cabbage family: broccoli, Brussel sprouts, winter cabbage and kale to name but a few, though all brassicas will need protection from hungry marauding pigeons: netting them should work. As well as being able to harvest these crops throughout the winter, correctly stored roots such as turnips, carrots, swede and beetroot can also be enjoyed. As usual, there is excellent advice on this on the RHS web-site: https://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/root-vegetables-storing.
Otherwise, my advice is: if at all possible increase the ratio of tea/wine-drinking/catalogue-gazing/planning and dreaming, over actual work in the garden. The winter respite is there for a good reason!