Autumn can be a busy time in the garden with lot of jobs to tackle after summer. The Artscape team has compiled this to-do list with essential tips on Autumn garden tasks to help you look after your garden and get it ready for the months ahead.
1. Tidy beds and borders
Trim perennials after flowering and remove any dying leaves to improve their appearance. Leave some seedheads though to provide winter decoration. These are also useful as a food source for some wild species, and insects will hibernate within them. Once your beds and borders are looking neat and tidy, you may add a layer of compost, or mulch.
2. Divide and replant perennials
Dividing perennials gives you the opportunity to multiply your plants, and it will help to re-invigorate them too. Lift the plant by loosening the soil with a spade and slice into sections, depending on the size. Ensure each section has healthy buds before replanting.
3. Bring tender plants inside
Bring in tender, cold-sensitive plants before the first frosts. Choose a spot with good light and frost-free conditions such as a conservatory.
4. Collect fallen leaves
Clear fallen leaves from your lawn, paths (which can get slippery) and borders and recycle them to make your own soil-conditioning leaf mould. Allow some leaf piles in out-of-the-way corners of your garden to provide shelter for overwintering wildlife.
5. Maintain your pond
Trim back pond plants that are starting to die back and scoop out any leaves, to avoid any decomposing vegetation building up in the pond. Prune back any overhanging branches to ensure the pond receives maximum exposure to sunlight.
6. Plant for winter interest
With soil still warm from summer sunshine, and moist with autumn rain, this is a perfect time for establishing plants before winter sets in. Consider filling gaps in the borders with evergreens to give structure and year-round interest. Grasses look lovely as they shimmer in the autumn light too. After planting any trees or shrubs apply a mulch of compost, manure, or bark chips.
Container gardening is an easy way to add uplifting seasonal colour to your winter landscape. Choose good-sized plants and position your containers where they will get as much light as possible. Water regularly in dry spells but raise the pots off the ground to avoid waterlogging. Choose bedding plants such as cyclamen, pansy, viola, and primula and mix with small evergreen shrubs such as bay, ivy or box. You could also grow evergreen herbs such as rosemary, sage, and thyme if you have a bright, sheltered spot.
7. Plant spring bulbs
Now’s the time to plant spring-flowering bulbs, whether you want an informal, naturalised display in grass or woodland or growing in pots and raised beds. Dainty miniature Narcissi are charming. Fritillaria are on trend, as are stylish Alliums, which are easy to grow, bloom for ages and have attractive seed heads.
8. Look after your lawn
Prepare your lawn for winter by aerating, scarifying, fertilising, and over-seeding, and it will be lush and full of vitality when spring arrives. Cut for a final time on the highest setting to leave the grass longer over winter. If you’re planning a new lawn, autumn is an ideal time to lay new turf and sow grass seed.
Plan and plant a spectacular winter garden with Artscape
Artscape horticulturalists, landscapers and garden designers create planting schemes and landscape improvements, that look stunning all year round. From planting new trees to laying a new lawn, we’re here to help with your garden project in Buckinghamshire or Berkshire, so do please get in touch with us today.
