Autumn Gardening Advice

Autumn Gardening tasks:

Water

As the nights cool off, plants are using slightly less water so reduce watering to once every few days or even once a week. Remove saucers from under window boxes and patio pots as they will not need them so much.

Feed

Feed evergreen plants, winter-flowering perennials, and shrubs such as Hellebores, and Sarcocca. Now is the best time to mulch around the border with composted bark or manure.

Plant

Plant ornamental trees such as Japanese Maples, Fruit trees, Soft fruit, Onions, Garlic, bare-root Wallflowers, and winter flowering bedding.

Heathers, Cyclamen, Pansies, and Violas can be planted into the border, hanging baskets, and patio containers to replace tired summer bedding.

Plant spring flowering bulbs before November and plant autumn flowering bulbs such as Colchicums and Crocus in September.

Prune

Lightly prune shrubs, woody herbs, and perennials to give them a good shape. Ensure not to cut into the hardwood of Lavenders. Deadhead late-summer flowering perennials such as Salvia and Rudbeckias.  Remember not to cut off the faded flowers from Hydrangeas. The faded flowers add winter protection. They can wait until spring to be removed.

Lawns

Mow the lawn frequently until the end of autumn. Apply a dressing of sand to increase drainage for the winter. Rake up leaves regularly off the lawn. Leaves left on the lawn can cause patches. Bag up the leaves into black bags and store to be used as mulch the following year.

Ponds

Clean out any debris from the pond and remove blanketweed. Place a net over the pond to catch falling leaves through the autumn and winter.