Get your garden ready for autumn
You'll be tickled pink you got your garden ready for autumn come spring and here's a quick checklist of gardening jobs to keep you right.
Autumn lawn care
Grass still grows in winter, albeit slower, but rainy autumn conditions can cause it to waterlog so keep your eye out for a dry day for this job.
The little piles of earth worms behind on the lawn start appearing from around September onwards and can make a real mess of your lawn. Use a stiff broom to clear them on a dry day so as to avoid turning the casts into mud.
For stronger, healthier grass come spring, now is the time to give your lawn a feed with an autumn lawn food. This will help strengthen the grass during cold and wet weather.
Protect vulnerable plants
It's a good idea to bring tender or half-hardy plants indoors to protect from frosts - but please remember to check the compost for insects and snails first.
Be on debris-watch
Windfall fruit around a tree. Foliage from roses. Autumn is time for debris-watch. Clearing all of this detritus will discourage disease and ensure that sunlight is finding its way to the grass or plants below.
Keep gardening tools spick and span
We've got a wide range of garden tools from DeWaldens Garden Centre, and keeping them spick and span will keep them in good condition.
This will help make your new year gardening jobs more stress free!
The same goes for sheds and greenhouses. Buff up the glass - that layer of fallen leaves or film of dirt from all sorts of other sources could be making a real difference to the amount of sunlight reaching the plants inside.
Plant spring-flowering bulbs
September is the best time to plant spring-flowering bulbs, but any time in autumn is fine if you missed the early boat.
Stock up your bird feeders
Help keep the birds fed and chirpier with one of our bird feeders. Natural food sources are less plentiful in autumn, so giving them a ready supply of bird food, and they'll be sure to drop by, bringing a pop of colour and life to your garden well into the winter and beyond.
Rehydrate
If the weather is still dry well into autumn, your lawn and plants may well be thirsty. This is particularly true of plants growing in pots and planters. Ensuring they’re hydrated now will help them withstand the rigours of winter.
Store garden furniture
We don't want to teach any grannies to suck eggs here, but this is one that is often overlooked. You must store your garden furniture because left to the mercy of the elements, sun umbrellas will discolour and barbecues begin to rust.
Show ponds some love
Show ponds some love by removing any overgrown plants or weeds, and skim off fallen leaves. How about putting a net over it to keep the water leaf-free?
Mend fences
You can mend fences in friendships if you like, or you can mend them literally in your garden, and ahead of high autumnal winds.
We also ask that you pay particular attention to fence posts - if you catch potential problems early enough, it can save you replacing an entire panel further down the line. How about a fence cleaner if yours is all mouldy?