Advertising feature Autumn time to clean up, prepare garden

THE cooler weather and a bit of rain suggests that autumn has arrived in full force.

I love autumn because it is gentle after the hot summer and the garden is covered in blues, whites and yellows of the plectranthus, euryops and gossip. It is also the time that the barleria and ribbon bush flower.

As all you gardeners know, no sooner have you enjoyed the garden in bloom than you start preparing for the next season. And autumn is the time to clean up, bring structure back after the vigorous growth of summer and prepare the ground for the new season of growth.

As soon as the flowers have died back, prune your shrubs to get rid of the long stems and to provide space for the new shoots that will come up in spring.

Once the beds are cleared, have a good look at your trees and make sure that they are doing what they are supposed to do and that is provide shape, texture and shade. If necessary, prune and seal them. I like to cut the lower branches so I get more light into the beds and it enables me to see through the trees to the rest of the garden.

You may want to spend a bit of time sorting out the bugs and things that make gardening a little more difficult. I find the trade off is no worms and no butterflies, or, lots of worms and lots of butterflies ... or maybe something in between

Autumn is also the time to prepare the soil for spring, so put lots of mulch on the beds and top-dress the lawns while there is still time for the grass to grow through.

My favourite compost man is Johan van Wyk at WOT compost.

Lastly, start planting. You should be ready for bulbs and annuals to brighten up your spring garden. Talk to your nurseries – Cherrywood in Kenton, and Standerwick and Red Leaf in Port Alfred.

Happy autumn.