We found these ten top tips from Country File to make sure your gardens in the best condition for the upcoming months!
- Clean up – Gather all the tools you haven’t used for the past few months, and give them a good cleaning to remove all the dirt and rust. Use a mild detergent to disinfect pots and seed trays.
- Check structures – Check over fences, sheds, gates and other structures for signs of weakness or rot and get them repaired before the harsh winter weather arrives.
- Lawn care – The lawn needs a breather over the winter months, so the best advice is “keep off the grass”. Make an exception to remove large weeds, moss and leaves.
- Give sheds and greenhouses a good scrub, and organise all those garden tools you cleaned earlier. Spruce up tables and chairs also.
- The vegetable garden – Cover root vegetables such as parsnips and carrots with 15cm on leaves or straw and they can be harvested throughout the winter. If snow is the forecast, cover with an old piece of carpet!
- Plants and shrubs – Dead-head autumn-flowering plants and prune summer-flowering shrubs before the frost arrives. Brush any heavy snow from shrubs and trees to prevent broken branches.
- Compost – If you don’t already have a compost heap or bin, this is as good time as any to start one, with all the leaves and cuttings to be disposed of. For those who already have a bin, a good stir will help the composting process along.
- Wildlife – Putting out fat blocks and other food will not only help local wildlife to survive the winter but will encourage birds, frogs, hedgehogs etc to stay in the garden and they will repay the favour a hundredfold by eradicating many garden pests in the upcoming year.
- Catalogues – Spend a cold winters evening reading through a winter garden catalogue looking for ideas and inspiration for your ideal garden.
- Clothing – Protecting plants, outbuilding and the local wildlife is very important, but don’t forget the handy gardener! Dressing appropriately and protecting yourself against the rigours of winter should be one of your first considerations.
