There’s a chill in the air but the transition from late summer into autumn has been gentle, if at times extremely wet.
The grass is still growing and flowers such as roses, dahlias and hardy geraniums are still being picked from the garden and brought into the house for display. But with November round the corner, it’s time to anticipate frosts, storms and even heavier rainfall. So between the showers, it’s time to tackle the jobs we need to do to get our gardens winter ready.
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Some of the projects are obvious. Because of the wind, there’s a lot of debris around. Leaves and old brittle branches are coming down from trees. Clearing them into a composting area is satisfying. What the garden produces and disposes of will, in time to come, be new feed for its plants.
Winter conditions across the country can vary from extreme lows in the midlands to frost-free coastal zones in the south, so this will inform whether you need to lift, mulch or wrap tender plants.
If you’ve already had your first frost, that means it’s time to lift your dahlias, gladioli and other tender corms and bulbs such as begonias. Lift, clean off the soil, leave to dry out and then store in a cold, frost-free place such as a garage. In milder areas it’s possible to get away with leaving them in situ, cutting them down and piling some insulating mulch on top.
Bananas and tree ferns can be wrapped in horticultural fleece. But avoid doing this on a windy day as it can turn into a very frustrating job with the fleece being difficult to handle. There are also fleece sleeves which can be slipped over the shrub. The lawn has had a tough time this year but it can take it.
After last year’s drought we’ve had biblical amounts of rain, some of which has been soaked up by our grass patches like a sponge. Grass is tough and will bounce back from any amount of abuse but for healthy lawns some work needs to be put in – and autumn is a great time to start a bit of lawn conditioning.
Use a springtine rake – which comprises a fan of flexible steel tines – to vigorously pull out thatch or debris that has built up as well as fallen leaves. There will be plenty more leaf fall but it’s best to remove leaves as they fall, otherwise the lack of light will turn the grass yellow and weaken it for the winter.
A lot of the glorious herbaceous growth which produced many of the flowers is done, so anything that isn’t attractive can be cut back. However, you don’t have to be super tidy – it’s more beneficial for wildlife if you can leave some areas of wilderness. Even a small pile of dead leaves will make a home for beneficial insects such as beetles, which feed on aphids and small caterpillars.
Try to get your weeding done before you mulch the beds. This year I’m plagued with petty spurge, a common euphorbia which I’m determined to see off before they set seed again.
Use last year’s compost as a mulch – think of it a cosy winter blanket for your outdoor beds.
And while your sleeves are rolled up, clean out your pots. Spread spent compost in the borders before scrubbing the pots and then either go again with some winter bedding or store them in the garden shed for next year.
Top Tip
Improve lawn drainage for winter by hollow tining the turf. This is done by removing plugs of soil at intervals around the lawn and then sweeping some silver sands into the holes
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