Tidying the garden for Winter

Tidying Up the Garden for Winter

A lot of us like to tidy up our gardens around October and then leave them alone when the cold winter months arrive. Autumn is actually a great chance for us to clear away the lifeless verdancy that is produced during summer, clean the gutters, maintain the borders and trim back any bushes. This season is ideal for preparing for the arrival of winter: this means picking up the leaves or weeds, protecting the plants and so on. 

By preparing your garden for the winter, you will be able to keep it at its best in readiness for spring and ensure that you will have abundant greenery all throughout the year. 

Here are just some tips on how you can make the most out of your garden this autumn. 

Plant bulbs that grow out in spring.

Just because winter is coming doesn’t mean you can’t do any planting. Before winter arrives, plant as many spring-blooming bulbs as you can. Think of Daffodil Bulbs, Allium Bulbs, Daffodil Bulbs, Tulip Bulbs, Lily of the Valley Bulbs, Ornithogalum Bulbs, Narcissus Erlicheer, Chionodoxa Bulbs, Papaver Bulbs, Iris Germanica Bulbs, Crocus Jumbo Bulbs, Bumper Spring Bulbs, Crocus Bulbs and more!

Manage your borders.

When your herbaceous plants begin to die, cut them close to the ground. Get rid of the annual plants too. Keep your borders clean by removing weeds, dead vegetation and foliage. 

Cut the edges of your lawn to make it look clean. Take away the wasted stems of the perennial plants but keep the ones with appealing seed heads. Leave your deciduous grasses as is: they can be left until the last month of winter, as dead leaves help in protecting the crown of the plant.

Autumn would be the best season to clear the contents of your old compost bins and spread it over your soil. This will set up your garden for spring and help make it look good during the cold months of winter. Do not worry because you can always fill up your compost bins using the upcoming year’s foliage and waste. 

Fix what needs to be fixed.

As soon as your borders, trees and hedges have been trimmed and cleared away, take this as a good opportunity to fix any broken structures in your garden. Take a look at your garden fencing, greenhouse and shed. Do they need to be repaired? Be on the lookout for ravaging pests and treat them or any decaying wood by having it replaced. If you do have anything that needs to be repaired or replaced then be sure to contact the team at Enterprise Works. 

Defend your plants against the harsh winter conditions. Not all of your plants can withstand the bitter cold. If you have any potted plants from the tender species, move them inside your greenhouse or shed to protect them. To protect some of your plants from frost, you can wrap them with a horticultural fleece around their trunks or apply a thick layer of bark mulch around their bases.  

The bare-root technique can be applied to some plants like roses, deciduous trees and shrubs but take note that they should be planted back in soil within 48 hours to achieve your desired results. These plants can be placed back in the garden by March. Rootballing, on the other hand, can be done for conifers and evergreens. 

Make your paths and paving neat and orderly.

We all know what autumn is like: everywhere you look, there are leaves, leaves and more leaves. So that the constand sweeping doesn’t det too much, try to clear debris and leaves as soon as the leaves are starting to fall. It also makes it a little easier to clear if the leaves are dry and crisp. 

So that your paving will be less slippery when the frost turns up, thoroughly clean it using a brush, soap and water. If you have a pressure washer, give your paving a blast.

Keep an eye out your trees and shrubs.

Keep your shrubs looking good by pruning unmanageable branches that ruin its overall shape. Prune your hedges too. If your trees have damaged branches, remove them. If left alone, those branches might rub with other healthy branches and deform them or even wound them. 

So that your winter garden will not look dull, find some shrubs and trees with brilliant colours. Think about Euonymus Alatus, Callicarpa, Variegated Holly, Evergreen Japanese Privet, Heavenly Bamboo Shrub, Garnet Tree, Firethorn, Orange Dogwood, American Sweet Gum Tree, Japanese Flowering Cherry, Japanese Acers, Berberis Thunbergii Orange Rocket, evergreen Skimmia, English Holly, Compact Winged Spindle Tree or Burning Bush, The Handkerchief Tree, Nandina Domestica, Colorado Spruce and so much more! 

Clean your garden water features.

Autumn brings lots of foliage and chances are, they will fall on your water features and clog them up. You can prevent this by covering your water features with a net when the leaves begin to fall. 

If you have a murky pond, begin tidying it up as soon as creatures begin to go dormant. To keep your water surface from completely freezing during frosts, put something on it that floats such as a ball or rubber duck.

Make your lawn winter-ready.

Take your rake and pull out moss, thatch and foliage and free your lawn from it. If there’s too much moss in your lawn, check out your drainage because it might be blocked. To remedy this, use a garden fork or lawn spike aerator. Finally, take out your autumn lawn fertilisers and combine it with moss killers. These things will help to prepare your lawn for the cold months. 

Let there be light.

Sometimes, the winter scapes seem bleak. If you want to enliven your winter garden and add another dimension to it, you can install outdoor lighting to highlight your topiary, trees, hedges and garden sculptures. You can experiment with torches and spotlights and position them at different angles for different viewing impacts.

After doing these things, sit back, relax and take the time to view all your hard work!

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