Preparing Your Garden for Winter

It seems as though we’ve only just begun to enjoy the British summer when the days become shorter and trees take on their autumn colours. There might still be a few more warm days to come, but this is the time of year when gardeners’ thoughts should turn to winter.

Preparing your garden for winter is mostly about tidying up and preventing problems that can occur in the colder months. There’s not always a clear division between the seasons – early frosts can be followed by a spell of milder temperatures – so plan your work by the weather forecasts rather than the calendar.

Clear up Fallen Leaves
If you (or your neighbours) have lots of trees, clearing up fallen leaves can be a big job. But think of all that lovely, free leaf mould! You can add some leaves to your compost heap but, as they rot more slowly than softer material, it’s better to deal with large quantities separately. Mix with a few lawn-clippings and place in sacks or plastic bin-liners pierced with some ventilation holes. Store the sacks in an out-of-the-way corner of the garden. Around this time next year, the leaves will have broken down into a rich, crumbly compost.

When they have lost their leaves, it’s easier to spot and deal with dead or diseased branches on deciduous trees and shrubs. If you are worried about the safety of large, overhanging branches ask the opinion of a tree expert before winter gales arrive.

After clearing most of the leaves, it’s time to tend the lawn. As growth slows down mow it less frequently and raise the cutting height a little. Scarify the lawn by giving it a good rake to remove dead grass and any moss. Then spike all over with a garden fork, lifting the turf slightly as you do so. This will allow oxygen to get into the compacted soil, encourage deeper root growth and improve drainage. If you have a large lawn and don’t relish the prospect of doing this work by hand, you can hire machines to do both jobs. Finish off with an application of lawn fertiliser, making sure you’ve selected an autumn mix that will nourish without promoting rapid growth.

Caring for Tender Plants
If you have any tender plants that you want to overwinter, be sure to pot them up and move them into a greenhouse or conservatory before the first frosts. The biggest danger to hardier plants left outside in containers is that their roots will freeze. Try insulating pots by wrapping them with several layers of bubblewrap or horticultural fleece.

Plants that are not completely hardy but are left in the ground can be protected with a 10-15 cm layer of dry leaves, bracken, straw or bark chippings.

Dropping Temperatures
As temperatures drop, many plants will begin to die down. Remove dead annuals completely and cut down unsightly dead material on perennial plants. But don’t use the shears and secateurs too eagerly. Many plants, such as ornamental grasses and those with unusual seedpods can still look attractive, especially when sparkling with frost. Another reason to leave on the dead flowers of mophead hydrangeas is that they protect the tender buds that will produce next year’s flowers.

Strong winds and heavy rain often do more damage than snow and frost. Make sure climbers are securely tied to their supports and check that tree stakes are still firm. If strong winds are a particular problem in your garden consider making temporary windscreens with netting or hessian stretched between posts, especially around evergreens and newly planted shrubs. Don’t put up solid barriers as these can cause even more wind turbulence.

Garden Repairs
Once the summer foliage has died down, the garden’s hard landscaping becomes more noticeable and is often easier to reach. Check your boundaries, paved areas, raised flowerbeds and screens. A simple repair to a damaged fence panel now could save you having to replace the whole thing after it has failed to stand up to a winter storm. Small cracks in concrete or brickwork will only get worse after hard frosts, and those wobbly paving slabs you’ve been meaning to fix all summer could be much more dangerous when they’re covered with snow.

Pond Life
If you have a pond, remove dead foliage from aquatic plants along with as many fallen leaves as you can. Ice will be your biggest problem. If the whole surface of the pond freezes, the pressure of the expanding ice can damage the walls. Fish can survive the cold, but they can be killed by poisonous gases such as methane and hydrogen sulphide that become trapped under a layer of ice.

One solution is to buy an electric heater designed to float on the surface of the pond. It only needs to be switched on when there is a risk of ice forming and it will keep a large enough hole open to enable gases to escape. Moving water freezes less easily than still, so keeping a fountain running will have the same effect.

If the pond does freeze over completely don’t be tempted to smash the ice if you have fish; the shock waves can kill them. Standing a pan of hot water on the ice will melt a hole and then you can siphon out some water to leave an air gap between the ice and water.

Retire to the Shed
When bad weather prevents work outside, retire to the shed or garage and give a little attention to your tools. Clean and oil metal parts and give wooden handles a wipe with a cloth dipped in linseed oil. Now is a good time to have the lawnmower serviced.

Finally, settle down indoors with seed and plant catalogues and begin to make plans for next year!