With leaves turning orange and starting to fall, now is the time to get gardens ready for the colder months ahead.

September is a transitional month, acting as a bridge between summer and winter and giving gardeners a chance to carry out essential maintenance and planting.

Simon Parry, a gardening expert at Trex, and Craig Wilson, co-founder, director and gardening expert at Gardeners Dream, have shared their top tips for September garden tasks.

What do you need to do in your garden in September?

Prepare your lawn for winter

Wilson said that as we begin to see an increased level of rainfall in September, the threat of lawns becoming waterlogged increases.

He advised aerating the lawn using a garden fork or scarifier to prevent waterlogging and soil compaction.

Meanwhile, Parry said that cutting the lawn regularly is helpful, but make sure to do it in dry weather as cutting wet grass can damage roots.

He explained: “At the beginning of the month, cutting every 1-2 weeks with high mower blades will help the grass absorb the rain it didn’t get in summer.

“Towards the end of September when growth slows down, fortnightly cuts will suffice.”

Aerating the lawn using a garden fork or scarifier can prevent waterlogging in the lattter months of the year (Image: Canva)

He also recommended applying an autumn lawn feed high in potassium and phosphorus to strengthen roots if growth is poor.

For any summer damage, Mr Parry suggested raking out dead moss and spiking the lawn before feeding to boost growth.

Plant spring bulbs, shrubs and trees

Both experts agree that September is also a good time to begin planting for next season.

Wilson said that once autumn comes along, he’d recommend planting spring bulbs like daffodils and bluebells.

He shared: “Whilst the hottest days are past us, planting shrubs and trees now will allow the roots to establish and grow before the first frosts and, ultimately, will result in an amazing display come spring.”

Various plants, shrubs and trees can be planted in September in preparation for the spring (Image: Getty Images)

Parry echoed this advice, encouraging gardeners to sow hardy annuals and spring-flowering bulbs while the soil remains warm.

He said: “Sowing spring flowering bulbs, such as daffodils and hyacinths, will also allow them to establish strong roots before winter.”

Plant vegetables and herbs

Wilson advised planting some varieties of vegetables and herbs that will then be ready in the winter.

He said: “If you want to be able to harvest greens throughout the winter, then now is the right time to start planting hardy varieties such as kale, pak-choi and mustard, ready for those winter salads.”

Wilson continued: “Before the temperatures drop and the frosts begin, September is the perfect time to pot up some herbs such as parsley, chives and coriander, ready for cosy winter recipes.

“Once potted, place them on a sunny window ledge for fresh herbs all winter long.”

Start harvesting

The autumn period is also a good time to start harvesting seeds from existing flowers and plants to go again in the spring.

Wilson explained: “This month is a good time to get out in the garden to harvest ripe seeds from all of your favourite flowers, ready to plant them in spring.

“All you need to do is store them in envelopes and keep them in a cool dry place.

“Don’t forget to label them, too.”

Meanwhile, Parry discussed some fruit and vegetables reaching their growing peak around this period.

Gardeners can harvest seeds to plant in the near future (Image: Getty Images)

He said: “Fruits such as apples, pears and plums should be ready now along with vegetables like, tomatoes, courgettes, beans, onions and potatoes, too.

“Make sure to pick off any rotting fruits.

“Any spent, healthy plants can be composted and finished summer crops should be removed.”

Make leaf mould for future use

Parry also recommended making leaf mould from fallen leaves as a long-term soil conditioner.

He said: “All you need to do is gather fallen leaves and stuff them into sturdy black plastic bags.

“Poke holes into the bag and leave it to decompose over 1-2 years, resulting in organic matter.”

While it will take a while to form, it will pay dividends in the future.

What are you planning to do in your garden in September? Let us know in the comments.

Edgardo Bauza became Argentina coach in August 2016, replacing Gerardo Martino after the Copa America failure. He lasted just eight months – but maybe his first few days were his most important.

The first thing he did was travel to Barcelona to persuade Messi to change his mind. The huge clamour for Messi to return proved irresistible.

“I love this country and this shirt too much,” Messi said as he returned to the international fold.

“I’m grateful to all the people who wanted me to continue playing with Argentina. Hopefully we can give them something to cheer about soon.”

Still, success didn’t come instantly. In 2018, Argentina fell to France in the last 16 of the World Cup and many wrote off Messi’s chances of ever lifting the trophy.

Quite incredibly, Messi did not win a senior international tournament until the age of 34 – and then he went on to win four in barely three years, including the 2022 Finalissima.

Questions about his international future were raised after each of those triumphs, but he played on to his sixth World Cup in 2026 where he scored eight goals and registered four assists en route to Argentina’s defeat by Spain in the final.

He was strolling through games, lacking the speed of years gone by, but somehow proving every bit as effective.

The final took place in the same stadium where Messi ‘retired’ a decade earlier.

“When Messi retired [10 years ago] it reminded us all how much we loved him,” said Argentina fan Benjamin who was in the Metlife for the 2016 showpiece final.

“When I heard him retire, I cried, the country cried. He did get criticism but only because everyone cared so much. Without Lionel Messi, Argentina would still be waiting for their next World Cup since 1986.”

Messi’s footballing future became a matter of fresh doubt after the death of his father Jorge just three weeks after this year’s World Cup final.

This decision seems final and, at 39, another return to international football looks unlikely.

But South American football writer Tim Vickery said an official farewell in Argentina could be on the cards.

“Remember that, as a result of their behaviour at the World Cup, the next game Argentina play on home soil will only be in front of a crowd at 50% capacity,” Vickery told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“But once those punishments are out of the way, I’m sure it will be in the mind of the Argentina FA: ‘Why don’t we hold a game back in Buenos Aires? River Plate, they have the biggest capacity in South America. Why don’t we do an official farewell there? What do you think about it, Lionel? One last time?’.”

Police, paramedics and the air ambulance were called to Britannia Place around 5pm today (Monday, August 31).

Picture shared on social media show a cordon in place with several police vehicles at the scene.

One person was taken to hospital. The nature and extent of their injuries are not known.

Cleveland Police has been contacted for comment.

A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called to an incident at a private address in Dormanstown, Redcar shortly before 5pm on Monday, August 31.

“We dispatched one ambulance crew, one clinical team leader and were supported by Great North Air Ambulance Service.

“One patient was taken to hospital by road for further treatment.”

D4vd is now without his all-star legal team as a public defender takes over his defense in his trial over the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas.

On Monday, the 21-year-old singer’s attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter told the judge overseeing the trial that they could no longer represent D4vd (real name: David Anthony Burke).

‘This morning the court granted our request to withdraw as counsel and appointed the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, after it was determined David qualified for appointed counsel,’ the trio said in a statement to TMZ.

‘We continue to support David and his defense against these serious charges,’ the lawyers continued. ‘We are grateful that the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office has taken over the representation and that David has a highly capable and committed team of attorneys and investigators behind him.’

At the same hearing, Burke pleaded not guilty to Rivas’s murder, as well as to charges of child sex abuse and mutilation in connection with her death.

The Daily Mail has reached out to D4vd’s representatives for comment but has not yet received a response.

At the same hearing, Burke pleaded not guilty to the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas, as well as to charges of child sex abuse and mutilation in connection with her death

In taking over D4vd’s case, the public defender reportedly said the singer was indigent, raising questions about his finances. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, Berk said in court that D4vd had asked the public defender’s office to replace his counsel.

Berk and the other attorneys didn’t share a reason for why their client was no longer requesting their services, and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo quickly agreed to the change in representation.

According to the LA Times, a spokesperson for the LA County Public Defender’s Office said they were not able to share D4vd’s ‘financial information,’ but they confirmed that a look at his finances indicated that he was eligible to be represented by a public defender.

It’s unclear how the performer is now unable to pay for his high-powered defense team, as it was previously shown in court that he had already earned millions from a lucrative recording contract prior to going on trial.

In a statement to the LA Times, LA County Deputy Public Defender Walid Kandeel said: ‘We recognize the loss of life underlying the allegations and extend our sympathies to those who are grieving. At the same time, David Burke is entitled to a defense that takes his circumstances seriously and carefully examines the evidence. We are committed to providing him with that defense.’

The latest shakeup in D4vd’s case comes after prosecutors revealed that Rivas was not pregnant at the time of her death in April 2025. 

Sources close to the Los Angeles County District Attorney told the Daily Mail in late July that prosecutors ‘don’t believe she was pregnant at the time she was killed,’ adding that ‘her body’ had been in ‘a state of decomposition.’ 

The public defender taking over D4vd’s case said in court that he was eligible for their defense, and the LA County Public Defender’s Office said a revue of his finances indicated that D4vd was eligible; pictured in court in April in LA

The latest shakeup in D4vd’s case comes after prosecutors revealed that Rivas was not pregnant at the time of her death in April 2025. Prosecutors said in a news release in late July that the singer had murdered Rivas on April 23, 2025, ‘because he feared their illicit sexual relationship would ruin his aspiring career’

The reveal came after an April 2026 addendum in the death certificate stated it had been ‘unknown’ whether Rivas had been expecting a child in the year before she was killed, People reported. The area of the death certificate had previously said ‘no’ prior to the adjustment.

Prosecutors alleged in a news release that the musical artist had murdered Rivas on April 23, 2025 ‘because he feared their illicit sexual relationship would ruin his aspiring career.’

D4vd is accused of fatally stabbing Rivas, then using a chainsaw to dismember her remains in an inflatable pool he had in a garage of a home in the Hollywood Hills he had been living at, according to prosecutors. 

The remains of Rivas had been found in a Tesla that had been registered to Burke on September 8, 2025, prosecutors said, adding that ‘small, blue plastic fragments’ from the inflatable pool had been found embedded in the victim’s remains.

The latest in the case comes after D4vd had been ordered to stand trial in Rivas’ murder following a preliminary hearing in which prosecutors presented text messages that alluded to Rivas being pregnant and getting an abortion a year prior to her killing.

Los Angeles Police Department Detective Corey Farell said that records from D4vd’s phone alluded to a 2023 pregnancy and January 2024 abortion, with Rivas telling him, ‘Of course it’s yours David.’

Farell told the court that D4vd subsequently inquired with Rivas about her medical appointment and commented that he felt as if he’d been ‘waiting for test results.’

The detective said that the phone also contained images of child sexual abuse material involving Rivas that prosecutors did not present in the hearing, due to their graphic nature.

D4vd is accused of fatally stabbing Rivas, then using a chainsaw to dismember her remains in an inflatable pool he had in a garage of a home in the Hollywood Hills he had been living at, according to prosecutors; he’s seen in his mugshot from the LA County District Attorney’s Office 

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The remains of Rivas had been found in a Tesla that had been registered to Burke on September 8, 2025, prosecutors said, adding that ‘small, blue plastic fragments’ from the inflatable pool had been found embedded in the victim’s remains; he’s pictured in Japan in May 2025 

Amid testimony from Farell, Rivas’ mother Mercedes Martinez wept as she walked out of the courtroom with the slain teen’s father Jesus Rivas.

Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said: ‘This is too much, I know how hard this is.’ 

Testimony presented from Farell in the preliminary hearing Monday indicated that Rivas’ parents had signed a form on September 23, 2024 granting consent for Rivas to go to London with D4vd from September 24 to October 5, 2024, People reported.

D4vd had bought plane tickets via United Airlines for a trip to London, followed by a trip to Texas, where members of his family reside, Farell said.

Farell said that Rivas’ family knew about her link to the musician, and that in 2024, they had traveled to Las Vegas as well as Houston.

Patrick Steinfeld, an attorney for Rivas Hernandez’s family, said after the hearing that they were ‘horrified that the defense attorneys brought up evidence to put the blame on a 14-year-old girl,’ according to the AP. 

Los Angeles Judge Charlaine Olmedo subsequently said that enough evidence had been presented to proceed to trial. The judge ordered that D4vd remain in custody with no bail, with an arraignment slated for August 31.

Prosecutors argued that the evidence to proceed to a trial was overwhelming.

‘Based on the mountains of evidence presented,’ Silverman said, ‘all of the allegations have been proved way beyond the standard required.’

Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said outside court that prosecutors presented only a ‘small fraction’ of the evidence they have. 

They are still weighing whether to seek the death penalty. D4vd is eligible for it after Judge Olmedo also found probable cause for lying in wait, killing for financial gain and killing a potential witness. These are special circumstances in a crime that would allow prosecutors to pursue the death sentence, if D4vd is found guilty.

A 61-year-old man has died and his eight-year-old daughter remains in hospital

• Police were called by a member of the public to reports of a disturbance at a property on Lisnahull Road at around 10.55am on Saturday, August 29
• Officers found the body of 61-year-old man and his severely injured eight-year-old daughter.
• First aid and CPR was carried out by officers at the scene and they have since been praised for giving the young girl a chance at survival.
• A 48-year-old woman, the deceased’s wife, was also injured and taken to hospital.
• The eight-year-old girl is now reportedly in a stable condition.
• A 16-year-old male has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Police have been granted an additional 36 hours to question him.
• Police have said they do not believe there is a wider risk to the public and they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.
• Mid Ulster District Commander, Superintendent Peter Stevenson said at a press conference on Monday, August 31: “First and foremost, I want to express my sympathies to the loved ones of this family who will inevitably be struggling to come to terms with this horrendous news. “Specialist officers are supporting the wider family circle and we are liaising with the relevant Consulate. We would ask that the public avoid speculation. “I want to repeat that we do not believe that there is any ongoing risk to the public and, at this stage, we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the investigation. “However, please be assured, that you will continue to see an increased police presence in the area. We have a significant number of detectives and local policing officers dedicated to working on this case.“We understand the public interest and concern and will continue to bring updates as our investigation progresses.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

HM Coastguard is coordinating the maritime search, as part of a multi agency response, for the teenage boy reported missing in water off Marloes Sands more than 24-hours ago.

HM Coastguard coordinates all maritime search and rescue (SAR) operations in the UK through its network of coastguard stations, which operate 24 hours a day.

Operations teams coordinate the response to incidents. HM Coastguard receives requests for assistance in forms including 999 calls, mayday and pan pan broadcast, calls on VHF DSC and Channel 16 and satellite distress calls.

In an emergency the coastguard may send:

• a coastguard rescue helicopter
• coastguard rescue teams
• lifeboats (RNLI or independent lifeboats)

Coastguard teams can also call upon other emergency services and other vessels at sea, which may assist.

The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) based in Hampshire is the base for the UK national coastguard rescue coordination system, connecting 10 Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCCs) around the UK, including in Wales.

There are more than 3,500 coastguard rescue officers (CROs) who volunteer around the UK coast and are trained in search and rescue skills.

HM Coastguard volunteers rescue people trapped on cliffs, stuck in mud or struggling in the water.

They also undertake a number of other duties such as staffing helicopter landing sites, assisting police in searching for missing people or attending reports of possible unexploded ordnance on beaches.

Emergency services were called to the M56 eastbound between junctions 12, Runcorn and 14, Hapsford just before 1am.

Police and paramedics attended the scene and found that there had between a collision between a pedestrian and three cars, a black Dacia Duster, a red Kia Niro and a black Ford Focus.

The pedestrian, believed to be a 38-year-old man from Golborne, Leigh was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say his next of kin have been informed and they are being supported by specialist officers.

The carriageway was closed while officers dealt with the collision, it reopened at around 9.15am.

Detective Sergeant Russ Sime, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said:

“This is a tragic incident, and our thoughts are with the family of the deceased.

“Enquiries to establish the full circumstances surrounding this collision are ongoing and as part of the investigation we are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident or believes they may have seen the pedestrian on the motorway prior to the collision, to get in touch.

“The same goes for anyone with any dashcam footage which may aid our investigation.

“Anyone with any information should contact Cheshire Police on 101 or via www.cheshire.police.uk/tell-us, quoting IML-2407733.”

Information can also be reported anonymously, via Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.

A German mother and a Greek father have been arrested after a dead baby was discovered in a raid on a holiday flat in Athens.

The newborn boy was found in a jar and hidden in a suitcase after a family tried to move out of a second-story flat.

The baby was found to have been stabbed ten times in the back by forensic pathologist Symeon Mesogitis.

The coroner could not determine the age of the baby, due to the condition of the body which had wounds to its back.

Initial inquiries suggest the child was eight to nine months old when it died and may have been moved from another location in the Greek capital.

The father allegedly told police that the baby had ‘cried constantly’ and had been swapped in hospital with a ‘satanic child’.

According to reports, he told police ‘as soon as he died our house calmed down’.

Neighbours reported ‘strange relationships’ in the flat with police arresting a 25-year-old Afghan man and finding three children in the flat, including a pregnant 15-year-old girl.

A neighbour alerted the landlord to the group had been living on the second floor for about a month.

They had seen the children going out alone onto the street.

He said the front door was often left open, with people waiting outside who would ring ahead to be let in.

The 38-year-old German woman initially claimed that it was her own fetus and that she had aborted it about eight months ago, a claim that will be investigated.

Police found ‘many sex toys’ at the flat on Thasos Street. Police are also carrying out DNA tests on the children to check they are related to the adults, with local reports saying the children are being tested for STI’s.

Their landlord told local media: ‘I suspected that something was going on. And I went to the apartment to see what was going on and from three people I saw six, I saw an Afghan and some things started to not make sense.’

He said he locked their belongings inside so they could not vanish before police arrived.

He added: ‘They left the flat in a dreadful state. I waited for the man to come afterwards, he wasn’t answering his phone, and during all this a little girl came out.

‘They stayed in the flat for about a month, they’d booked it for two people. Then a nine-year-old child came out of one of the rooms who looked nothing like the others.

‘That’s when I started to suspect something and locked away all their belongings. Inside the flat there were some sex toys, a camera, a laptop and drugs. There was no sense to the relationships between them, none of it added up,’ he said.

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The official campaign for the US midterm elections usually begins after America celebrates Labor Day on September 7. But over the summer, the battle for votes has intensified between Donald Trump’s Republican party and a freshly emboldened Democratic party.

In November’s elections, all the seats in the House of Representatives will be contested, as will one-third of the Senate. Throughout the year, Republican and Democratic hopefuls have been engaged in the primary election process.

These are now nearing a conclusion. Primaries have now been held across the country for gubernatorial, Senate and House contests. Following the August 18 primaries, polling showed the Democrats with a six-point lead.

The Democratic party has also been buoyed by data from earlier in the month from a Reuters/Ipsos poll that revealed for the first time in nearly a decade that voters prefer the party’s approach to the economy. This could be a decisive factor come election day on November 3.

Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a thinktank, has asserted that in America’s current bitterly divided political climate “where more congressional districts than ever before are considered ‘safe’ for one party or the other, real change plays out in congressional primaries”.

Results from the August 18 primaries in Florida, Alaska and Wyoming have underlined the current shifts in voting preferences among both Republican and Democratic supporters.

On the Democrat side, there appears to be a developing trend of candidates on the party’s left defeating centrist hopefuls. In Florida, democratic socialist Angie Nixon defeated her moderate Democrat opponent, Alex Vindman.

The result was striking for two reasons. First, the contrast in campaign spending by both candidates. Nixon raised US$975,000 (£716,000) compared to Vindman’s war chest of over US$16.3 million.

The other noteworthy point was Nixon’s robust position on Israel. She advocated stripping the country of US aid, something that is politically risky in a state that contains America’s third-largest Jewish population.

This was by no means uniform – other candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) lost out to more established Democratic candidates. But Nixon’s victory represented another progressive outsider advancing to November’s elections – something already witnessed in states like Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan.

DSA figures have been able to tap into significant frustration among the Democratic voter base that has become increasingly vexed by cost-of-living issues as well as growing discontent towards their party establishment.

Trump ticket no longer golden

Democrats are now beginning to feel increasingly optimistic about their chances to take back control of the US Senate after November. This would require a net gain of four seats.

An emerging trend from recent Republican results suggests that the once hugely sought-after Trump endorsement is no longer the guarantee of victory it once was. The president’s first choice in Florida’s 19th congressional district, Catalina Lauf, lost out to Jim Schwartzel. Similarly, in Wyoming’s Republican primary for governor the sitting state senator Eric Barlow defeated the Trump-backed candidate Megan Degenfelder.

In South Carolina, Darline Graham – who replaced her brother Lindsay Graham as senator when he died in July – won a run-off primary with the strong backing of the president. But given the late Senator Graham’s prominent profile, she is perhaps best seen as a continuity candidate, winning on name recognition as much as on the Trump endorsement.

This apparent defiance against the 47th president among registered Republican voters seems to be increasingly common, with the president’s preferences in Iowa, Georgia and South Carolina’s gubernatorial races all losing.

Trump’s job approval ratings remain in negative territory. A recent RealClearPolitics polling average had the president’s approval rating at 39.2% with 58.4% of respondents saying they disapprove of his performance.

The war in Iran is having a daily impact on the lives of ordinary Americans through rising fuel prices. The survey also revealed that just three out of ten voters approved of Trump’s management of the conflict. This may explain why some Republican voters are prepared to reject the president’s endorsement.

Rural voters

Rural voters are emerging as a key demographic that appears to be turning away from Trump. Sharp rises in fuel and fertiliser costs are hitting grain producers particularly hard, while Trump’s tariff regime is hurting agricultural exports.

A recent Fox News analysis found that among rural voters, Trump’s net job approval fell from +20 in early 2025 to -14 in May 2026. A recent article by Brookings senior fellow, William A. Galston, pointed to the fact that Trump carried 64% of the rural vote to Kamala Harris’s 34% in 2024. He believes that in November, while Republican voters may not choose to cast their ballot for Democratic candidates, there’s a strong possibility more will choose not to vote at all.

There was further bad news for the Republicans in a Pew Research study from July which found that, despite Trump himself not being on the ballot, nearly twice as many voters – 42% – will use their ballot to vote against him as those who will use it to vote for him.

But all might not be lost just yet for the GOP. It may look as if the Democrats are on course to retake the House of Representatives – and potentially also the Senate – in November. But we have yet to discover the impact of significant redistricting by various states under the administration of both parties.

Redistricting is when a state redraws the boundaries of its electoral seats to better reflect the state’s demographics. This happens automatically every ten years. But a number of states have redrawn their boundaries since July 2025 outside this automatic process. Analysis shows that out of the ten states to have engaged in a voluntary redistricting process, the new electoral maps of eight favour Republicans.

So while Democrats have a clear polling edge and obvious momentum, the results of the midterms are still far from certain.