Look down
While the soil is still relatively warm, autumn is the perfect time to give the ground a boost – both in terms of nourishing the soil, as well as planting ahead for next year.
Improve and enrich soil: Before the first hard frost, autumn is a great time to mulch over your garden. Applying a layer of natural mulch – whether home-made or purchased from your local garden centre – across beds and larger pots to allow nutrients to trickle down into the soil while its still active. It’s a good idea to do this before the cold comes. Give everything a good weed before doing so and it will also provide the added benefit of suppressing lots of new ones from emerging.
Last chance lawn-care: Now is your last chance for key lawn work. Using a garden fork (or a fancier aerator if you have one), create holes in compacted lawn areas to improve drainage and allow air to reach the roots of the gras. If your lawn has a thick layer of dead moss, use a narrow-tined rake to gently scrape this away and dispose. This will improve water and nutrient absorption before winter sets in.
Leaf-strewn lawns: To make leaf collection easier for your all-important leaf-mould, give dry leaves a going over with your lawnmower. Chopping them up and then raking into piles before adding to an old compost back with a few holes punched in will help, over time, to create a much smoother end-product to apply to your garden. Leaf-mould can take two to three years to break down, but it is so worth the wait.
Planting ahead: Beyond spring-flowering bulbs – an obvious choice for autumn planting – autumn is the secret weapon for planting up a lively display for next year. If you’ve been following our newsletters or our posts over on Instagram, you’ll know that Planting Season is the best time of year to plant up a garden – and there’s still plenty of time. If you are looking to transform your outdoor space, but don’t know where to start, drop us a line at hello@digclub.co.uk. We’ll be very happy to advise, and recommend the right products to get in the ground now for both a bit of visual interest but also dormant planting that will strengthen over the winter and explode into life in the spring.
Bulbs galore: From our previous newsletter, but still extremely relevant… Autumn’s also when you want to be thinking about putting bulbs in the ground, ready for their spring display. Tulips and daffodils are firm favourites and now is the time to be thinking about getting them in the ground. Take a moment to think about what colours the plants in your garden have moved through over the summer, and choose complimentary or contrasting colours for synergy or impact. Or both! Besides tulips and daffodils, there are hosts of other bulbs to consider. Muscari, Iris, Crocus, Fritillaries, Snowdrops and Alliums are all also wonderful additions to almost any garden.
Protect and serve
Protecting more vulnerable plants and structures now can prevent lost plants and major repairs later down the line.
Winter abodes: It’s time for the great migration. Move any tender perennials (such as Pelargonium, Fuchsia, citrus trees, and Canna) into a frost-free environment such as a greenhouse, conservatory, or shed – or even a warm window-sill. If it looks necessary, give them a very light neaten up with a pair of sharp, clean secateurs and keep an eye on them over the coming weeks for disease or pests.
Pot protection: Potted plants are more susceptible to frost damage as their roots are exposed on all sides. Terracotta is also especially susceptible to cracking in the frost. Group your vulnerable terracotta pots together and wrap them with layers of sacking or cardboard secured with twine. Raising pots onto pot feet can also help drainage and prevent the roots from sitting in icy water.
Prepare hibernation stations: Empty any greenhouses or cold frames, no matter the size or location, and give the glass and internal structures a thorough clean with horticultural disinfectant or lightly soapy water. This will dramatically reduce the overwintering population of pests and fungal spores, helping to ensure a healthy environment for overwintering plants or early spring seedlings.
Whatever size your greenhouse or cold frame, autumn is a good opportunity to empty and clean it.
Time for a tidy
Though we are firm advocates for leaving some perennial seedheads both for winter interest and wildlife is encouraged, there are a few plants that will benefit from an autumn prune and a tidy up – both for aesthetic as well as horticultural reasons.
Scruffy perennials: For aesthetic reasons, trim back scruffy looking perennials that are no longer adding anything to your borders. Some dead stems and flower heads retain their structure providing beautiful visual interest. Others can flop over and start to look messy. They can also begin to rot against the ground, so it’s a good idea to trim back and remove. Pop them on your compost heap.
Shredding shrubs: Well, not quite shredding, but it’s a good idea to check over any shrubs for dead branches, removing them with sharp secateurs or a saw where they join the healthy, living branch. You can also use this process to reshape shrubs while they’re a little less active and prone to shock from too heavy a trim.
Drain outdoor water systems
Preventing frost damage to your water infrastructure is well worth the time and effort. As the cold approaches, turn off the supply to any outdoor taps and drain the pipes, if you’re able to. If you cannot drain the pipes, ensure taps are protected with tap jackets or lagging. Completely empty and drain all hoses and any irrigation lines to prevent the water inside from freezing and bursting the plastic or rubber.
Clean features and feeders
If you have a small garden pond, use a net to remove as many fallen leaves as possible to prevent them from rotting and creating a sludgy layer at the bottom. For wildlife, ensure bird feeders and bird baths are cleaned thoroughly with disinfectant. Clean feeders prevent the build-up of bacteria and diseases that can harm visiting birds during the stressful winter months.
Gardening for nature
Every month, our garden jobs also include a few top tips for local wildlife. Gardens provide crucial and all-important habitats for British wildlife. Every well-tended, pesticide-free garden helps combat the dire situation of the UK being one of the most nature-depleted countries in Europe.
Food and water
Keep clean bird baths topped up and empty of ice. Give bird feeders a good clean too, and keep topped up with high energy foods for local birdlife. A variety of feeders and types of food will encourage a variety of different birds into your garden.
If you’re planning to feed visiting hedgehogs, meaty cat and dog food is best. Never give them milk and bread which can be deadly for them in this crucial weight-gaining month before winter hibernation.
Planting for nature
As it’s Planting Season, now is a great time to plant a tree – you will need to water it less and it will have winter to establish, if you continue to look after it and protect it through the colder months. Consider planting a native berry-producing tree if you want to invite more wildlife into your garden when it reaches maturity. Native plants to the UK are much preferred by local wildlife, which makes sense logically – but is something we often overlook in favour of more interesting plants from overseas. Striking the right balance between ornamental and native will help you create a nature-friendly, but still visually pleasing habitat for you and any wild visitors.
