GREAT AUTUMN TIPS TO GET YOUR GARDEN READY FOR WINTER

Now that Summer has come to an end, Autumn is the perfect opportunity to dispose of all the dead vegetation left over from the Summer months. In addition to this, tidying of borders and clearing out of guttering is also essential this time of year due to increases of both rain and wind. In essence, Autumn is all about picking up and tidying before the arrival of winter.

Below we will explore essential top tips:

AUTUMN CLEAN:

Grab that rake, grab that broom and don’t forget about those gloves too! Sweeping out plant debris and disposing of waste on your lawn, bedding’s and the greenhouse are all good areas to start. Although it sounds simple enough, cleaning the debris from your garden will help to smarten the area up a great deal. This in turn will make your garden look completely new!

TIDYING UP OF BORDERS:

To ensure a vibrant display next Spring, now is a great time to start doing a lot of the hard work. Dig up annuals and plant your beds with pansies and wallflowers – varieties which we have stock of in our Shrubs Department as well as many others!

Cut back faded perennials to 5cm above ground level, but you do not have to worry about making them too tidy as attractive seed heads are great for insects and look wonderful when covered in Autumn dew.

Now that you have done the above steps, you can pop down to Polhill Garden Centre to purchase compost, bark or bags of manure which can be spread across your borders.

LAWN TREATMENT:

This time of year is pivotal in making sure you protect your lawn as much as possible. Using a garden rake, remove moss and mulch and add it to a compost heap. If your lawn does have a large amount of moss it is best advised to use a moss killer first. Here at Polhill, we have a diverse range of lawn treatment such as moss killer which can be purchased here.

Once this is done, brush in a sandy top dressing followed by an application of Autumn lawn feed which is pivotal with regards to preparing your lawn for the winter months ahead.

Now is also a good time to improve drainage and aeration around paths and patios by forming deep holes with garden prongs at 10-15cm gaps. Autumn is also great for laying down new turf too, giving it plenty of time to establish ready for next summer.

PLANT EVERGREENS:

Evergreens help to provide structure and vibrancy during the dreary winter months. Slightly cooler air temperatures and warm soil makes Autumn the perfect time to fill in gaps in your borders with evergreens such as Azaleas and Rhododendrons. Both these shrubs will add a great splash of vibrant colour to your garden.

Skimmias are another colourful alternative which can be used. Their glossy evergreen leaves provide contrast to their fragrant white flowers in April and May and long-lasting winter berries.

For an elegant larger shrub, spring flowering camellias, or fatsias are great for their vibrant foliage. Alternatively, Lonicera nitida makes for wonderful formal shapes or evergreen hedges.

Here at Polhill Garden Centre we have a wide range of evergreens which will help to supply your garden with vibrancy over the months ahead.

CLEARING OUT OF COMPOSTS BINS:

The Autumn clear up of borders and vegetable plots always generates a lot of plant material for your compost heap. Now is the ideal time to clear out old compost and use it around the garden, making room for accumulation of this year’s waste.

If the compost is not quite ready, turn it to improve decomposition and create a new heap next to it for fresh organic matter. It is never a bad thing to have too much compost.

MAINTENANCE OF GARDENING EQUIPMENT:

Many of us tuck the lawn mower away in the shed and forget about it until the Spring months. However, instead of taking chances and hoping that the lawn mower will be working to its full capacity when needed again, it is worth taking it for a service before storing it away. This will ensure that once you need to cut the lawn again, your lawn mower will be in great operating condition.

Shears and secateurs need sharpening to make sure that they cut and do their jobs sufficiently. This can either be done by yourself or brought to Polhill, where one of our retail partners, Knife Ninjas is at our centre every Friday 10 – 4pm. Knife Ninjas are a mobile sharpening service which will be able to sharpen your tools, making them look as good as new.

It is also highly recommended to wash your tool such as shears, secateurs, spades and forks. Make sure that they are dried thoroughly and is imperative to oil metal parts to help avoid rusting.

PREVENT LEAVES FALLING INTO THE POND:

Decomposing leaves can make your pond look horrible quickly, turning the water foul and blocking filters on pumps. To prevent leaves from falling into your pond, spread a fine meshed net across the pond and pin it down with something sturdy such as bricks or heavy stones.

Remove any leaves which fall onto your mesh and dispose of them by adding them to your leaf mould or compost heap.

All of the above are top tips which will help to spruce up your garden throughout the Autumn period, whilst making sure that it is also ready for the monotonous weather in which the Winter will bring. If you want any further advice, then please feel free to speak to our friendly team during your next visit to our centre.