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After the hustle and bustle of the spring and summer months when our gardens wake up, stretch out and show off their colours, there comes the time in the year when our gardens begin to wind down and bunker in for autumn and winter.
Autumn brings its sea of rusty colours with its falling foliage and crisp fresh mornings. It also brings a brilliant opportunity to get out into our outdoor spaces to prepare our gardens for the colder, more rainy months ahead.
It’s a time to trim back, de-weed, mulch and tidy up. It’s the perfect time of year to get the more maintenance-orientated tasks done, whilst the last of the stable weather and lighter nights begin to become fewer and far between,
Here are handy tips on how to prepare your garden for Winter.
Up-root annual flowers
Annual flowers bloom amazingly during warmer months, bringing colour and vibrancy to your garden. Although no one wants to up-root these beautiful plants at the end of the season, it’s a job worth doing and reduces the time you need to spend in your garden over winter. To get the most out of your annual plants once up-rooted, add them to your compost pile. And, if digging up your plants doesn’t come naturally to you, consider using only perennials and evergreens, which last longer.
Protect your plants
Tender plants need to be tucked up safe and warm for winter with a layer of protective insulation. When preparing vegetable gardens for winter, you can use horticultural fleece to wrap around delicate plants in your garden to give them better odds of surviving into the new year. Preparing your garden for winter is key for protecting your plants. If you’re worried about any particularly flimsy looking plants, now is the time to give them a bit of support with stakes. Potted plants that you think may not weather the frost can be brought indoors for a winter spent in the warmth, or closer to the house for extra shelter.
Garden tidy up
Clearing debris and getting your garden looking as tidy as possible is important. Remove all unwanted matter to your compost heap, cut back perennial plants to soil level and ensure that your potting shed is in order. However, soil will appreciate being left alone as it needs protection from the ravages of winter – over-digging can remove all of the natural decay that will have helped form a protective top layer.
De-weed your garden
As most of us know, weeds can become problematic if left to go wild, and if you don’t manage them at the beginning of winter, they will become a bigger problem come springtime. Make sure weeds come out right from the root, especially where they’ve come up through your paving joints and alongside garden edging. You could go for the easy solution of a weed-killer but try to opt for something that’s less damaging to the environment, and be mindful it may impact your neighbouring plants growth if you’re spraying close to your garden border.
Add organic materials
Mulching can protect your plants during winter and is a good eco-friendly gardening method if you choose the right materials.
Covering your garden beds with thicker organic material such as mulch or wood chippings can help prevent plants from freezing whilst reducing soil erosion from rainfall.
Cover up garden furniture
The colder seasons won’t treat your garden furniture so kindly as dampness and wet spells cause potential rust and mould to your furniture. As you won’t be needing them so often, it is best to store garden furniture pieces in the shed or garage. If this isn’t possible, tough waterproof sheet coverings can be securely fixed around them, and cushions can be put away in a garage or shed in waterproof bags. – Marshalls.co.uk
Online Reporter