WINTER IS COMING
It’s time to get your garden ready ... before the weather gets too cold
THE transition from late summer into autumn had been very gentle – until recently at least – thanks to the unusually warm weather this year.
After six months of balmy weather, we could have been lulled into a false sense of security and imagine that winter would never come. But now it’s time to anticipate frosts, storms and heavy rain.
So it’s with some excitement we can tackle the jobs which we may all need to do to get our gardens winter-ready.
Some projects are obvious. There’s a lot of debris around – it is windy.
Leaves and old brittle branches are coming down from trees. Clearing them into a composting area is satisfying. What the garden sheds will come to be new feed for its plants in time.
Conditions across the country can vary from extreme lows in the North to almost frost-free coastal zones in the South, so this will inform you whether you need to lift, mulch or wrap tender plants.
If you’ve already had your first frost, that means it’s time to lift your dahlias, gladioli and other tender corms and bulbs such as begonias.
Lift, clean off the soil, leave to dry out and then store in a cold, frost-free place such as a garage. In milder areas it’s possible to get away with leaving them in situ, cutting them down and piling some insulating mulch on top.
Bananas and tree ferns can be wrapped in horticultural fleece. Avoid doing this on a windy day as it can turn into a very frustrating job with the fleece blowing away!
There are also fleece jackets which can be slipped over the shrub.
The lawn has had a tough time this year but it can take it. Almost five months of drought has weakened some of the grass plants.
Give it a vigorous rake – this is called scarifying and removes any thatch that has built up, as well as fallen leaves.
Yes, there will be plenty more leaves to fall but it’s best to remove them as this happens otherwise the lack of light will turn the grass yellow and weaken it for the winter.
You can improve drainage for winter by hollow tining the turf – this is the removal of plugs of soil at intervals around the lawn and then sweeping in some silver sands into the holes.
A lot of the glorious herbaceous growth which produced much of the flowers is done so anything that isn’t attractive can be cut back.
However, you don’t have to be super tidy – it’s more beneficial for wildlife if you can leave some areas of wildness.
Even a small pile of dead leaves will make a home for beneficial insects such as beetles which will feed on aphids and small caterpillars.
Try to get your weeding done before you mulch the beds. This year I’m plagued with petty spurge, a common euphorbia which I’m determined to see off before they set seed again.
Use last year’s compost as a mulch – think of it a cosy winter blanket for your outdoor beds, and while your sleeves are rolled up, clean out your pots. Spread spent compost in the borders. Scrub the pots and either go again with some winter bedding or store them in the garden shed for next year.