Autumn Gardening: What You Need To Do Before Winter Arrives

It seemed like summer was finally over, though we have been having some fab weather recently. But when autumn does come along, that means no more gardening for another few months, right? Wrong! In fact, you should be just as busy through the autumn as you were in summer. If you continue to work in your garden throughout autumn, it will continue to look its best over winter. However, it you leave it, plants could struggle to survive. So what jobs should you be busying yourself with over the next couple of months? Here are some great ideas.

Add A Greenhouse

Have you been thinking of adding a greenhouse to your garden all year? Well now is the best time to get one or to replace your greenhouse glass if you already have one. Greenhouses are great at making the most out of the autumn sun to ensure that all the plants and vegetables in them can grow to their full potential. Even if yours is unheated, you will find that your plants manage to last much longer out of their season. Not sure what vegetables you should plant in your greenhouse right now? Not is the perfect season for planting lettuces and French beans. You should also start moving herbs inside so that they last through the winter. Take a look at sites such as South West Greenhouses to see the different kinds you could get.

Get Rid Of Dead Plants

Some plants and flowers will now be past their best as they come to the end of their season. You should start to dig these up now so that you can use them for compost. It is also important to get rid of any plants that seem diseased, even if they are still in season. Do not use these for your compost, as it could help to spread the disease to healthy plants. Do you have flowering perennials? These are plants that keep on growing from the same routes. If you have some of these, don’t get rid of them if they look like they are dying. Simply cut the back so that they can flower once the new season starts in spring.

Plant Bedding Plants

Bedding plants are all those that go in flower beds and down by the side of your boundaries. Most of the time, they are bright flowers used as gorgeous displays. They will last one season and will then have to be dug up and composted. Not is the time to get out into your garden and plant the bedding plants that you want to flower from spring onwards. Try to include wallflowers, Primulas, and Bellis for a fantastic burst of spring colour in your garden once the weather starts to pick up.

Start Composting

Throughout autumn and especially winter, you will be cutting lots of plants back and digging up ones that don’t survive the cold weather. And all these cuttings are perfect for making compost with. It is super easy to start composting. All you need to do is get a metal bin or sturdy wooden box and add all your garden waste into it. The dead plants and flowers will start to decompose. As it does, it will create compost. You should expect to wait a few months until it is ready to use. Once it is good to go, simply mix it into the soil in your garden. This will give all your plants, flowers, and vegetables a lot of important nutrients.

Care For Your Lawn

Your lawn will have gone through a lot in the summer. After all, you’ll have been mowing it once a week. Now that the weather is cooler, the grass won’t be growing quite so quickly, so you don’t have to cut it. However, that doesn’t mean you can simply ignore your lawn for the coming months! In fact, there is a lot you can be doing to it now. If there are any bald or dark patches, you should sow some extra seeds. It is also worth giving it a feed so that it can survive the winter. Simply add some lawn feed to a watering can and water your lawn thoroughly.

Help Wildlife

The wildlife in your garden will also struggle to get through the colder months. Thankfully, there is plenty you can do to help all the different animals and birds out. Leave out extra food for birds in your garden. There are many different types of food you can leave them. Birdseed is the most common, and you can find this is all good garden centres and DIY shops. You might also find fat balls in these types of shops. These provide birds with enough fatty food to help them stay warm in winter. If you can’t find these to buy anywhere, you could have a go at making your own. It is also a good idea to plant berry bushes as these will provide food for birds and animals.

Protect Your Veggies

As wildlife in your garden will be looking all over for extra food, they will start to target your vegetable patch. Some insects might even start nibbling on the petals of your flowers. The best way to deal with these pests is to create a physical barrier between them and the plants. You will be able to buy mesh and nets from your gardening centre. This is a much better option than using pesticides. If you use chemicals, they could end up on the vegetables and in the food you eat.

Look After Your Pond

It is a good idea to cover your pond with a net over autumn. This will prevent leaves from falling in and polluting the water. If too many leaves get it, it could end up clogging up the pond and making it difficult for the pondlife to survive. If you do add a net, be sure to regularly clean away all the leaves and debris that fall onto it. Otherwise, it could end up sinking into the pond and disrupting the animals in the pond. It is also important that any fish in the pond can continue to breathe in the pond through winter. Therefore, you need to prevent it from freezing completely. It is also important to keep it as deep as possible. That’s because fish survive in the deeper waters throughout winter.

Cover Garden Furniture

I doubt you’ll be sitting out in your garden much from October onwards. The British weather isn’t made for it! So, seeing as your garden furniture won’t be getting much use, you should cover it up. Hopefully, it should have come with a plastic sheet when you bought it. If you have a shed in which you can store it, even better. No matter what happens, you shouldn’t leave the furniture out and exposed to bad weather. It will seriously reduce its quality. Especially if it is made out of wood.

Continue To Water Plants

You should still continue to water plants even though the weather will get colder. However, you don’t have to water the plants if you experience a few days of heavy rain. One thing to remember is that your houseplants won’t need watering as regularly throughout autumn and winter. Give all of your plants some plant food before the cold weather finally sets in. This will help to ensure that they make it through winter.

You won’t have quite as much work to do in the garden as in summer, but there will still be plenty to do before winter hits. And once you have done all these major jobs, you will find that your garden looks great no matter how bad the weather gets!