Autumn will arrive soon, which will be that time of the year when it will get darker earlier in the evening, leaves will fall, and the temperature will drop. This means that NOW is the perfect time to start preparing your gardens for the winters, and plan to accomplish maintenance-oriented tasks by hiring a professional gardener. We believe that in this exact time of year, when maintenance-oriented tasks can be accomplished.

Here are a few tips that may help you in making your garden ready for the upcoming colder months:

• Tidying up your Garden: So which is that month when you should start preparing your garden for winters? Well, when November turns into December, that is the time when you should begin cleaning up your garden. 

• Clearing debris, removing all the unwanted matter to your compost heap, cutting back perennial plants to the soil level and ensuring that your potting shed is in order will make your garden look as tidy as possible. 

• However, soil should be left alone as it needs protection from the harshness of the winter. Moreover, over-digging should be avoided as it can remove all of the natural decay that would have helped in forming a protective top layer.

  
  

• Removing Away all the Debris: Clearing away all the old plants, dead leaves, and other debris is very important because these can harborage pests and diseases in the winter season. Therefore, it is necessary to rake up all the fallen leaves and remove any vegetables or dead plants from the garden to prevent issues for the next season.

  
  

• Protecting the Soil:

• It is paramount to protect the soil in winter as this weather can deplete and erode the nutrients from your soil. However, mulching is a good eco-friendly gardening method that can protect your plants and can prevent soil erosion. 

• All you have to do is to cover your garden with a thick layer of organic material such as mulch or wood chippings like straw, compost, or leaf mold, that protect the soil from harsh weather conditions such as freezing by reducing soil erosion during rainfall and help retain its moisture.

  
  

• Planting Winter Crops and Bulbs: Planting bulbs and winter crops this winter can give you a head start for next spring blooms. You can plant hardy winter crops such as onions, garlic, broad beans, as well as spring-flowering bulbs in the fall such as daffodils and tulips so that they can bloom in the early spring before the other plants in the garden. However, the only thing that you have to ensure about is that the bulbs should be planted at the correct depth so as to avoid frost damage​.

  
  

• Protecting Vulnerable Plants:

• Tender plants can be damaged with frost and cold winds, so they have to be tucked up safe and warm with a layer of protective insulation. 

• You can use frost cloth, hessian fabric, cloches, fleece, or mulch to cover and protect delicate plants from freezing temperatures and frost. 

• In addition to this, move potted plants to a sheltered area such as a greenhouse and indoors or can use bubble wrap to cover the containers and provide insulation to the roots from freezing temperatures​.

• Maintaining Garden Tools and Equipment for Winters:

• It is ultimately very necessary to thoroughly wash, clean, and dry all the garden tools and equipment completely before storing them. 

• Apply oil onto the metal parts to prevent them from getting rust, and clean and protect wooden handles by applying linseed oil. 

• Moreover, also drain the hoses and irrigation systems to prevent them from freezing and getting damaged. Hence, doing this will increase their life expectancy, thus ensuring they are ready for the next spring. 

  
  

• Tending to the Lawn:

• Tending the lawn which includes mowing the lawn, trimming hedges, removing weeds, and planting flowers before the first frost, and leaving the grass as it is for slightly longer to protect it from the cold weather. 

• Aerate the soil for improving the drainage and spread a fall fertiliser that will strengthen the roots​.

Doing this handful of things will prepare your lawn for winter by preventing your garden from bare patches and diseases. 

• Pruning Plants:

Cutting old foliage and stems of dead flowers from perennials to prevent it from fungal infections, storm damage, and pests. This will also help perennials from dominating your garden. Moreover, winter is the best time to cut plants that shed their leaves annually, and some need maintenance as well.

• De-weed your Garden:

• It is very important to manage weeds at the beginning of winters, as they can become problematic if left ignored. While de-weeding, you need to make sure that the weeds come out straight from their roots, especially where they have come up alongside the garden edging, or through your paving joints. 

• Alternatively, you can also opt for a weed-killer which is an easy solution. It is necessary to make sure of a few things, choosing the weed-killer should be no or less damaging to the environment, while spraying close to your garden border, it should not impact your neighbouring plants growth.

• Fully-Covering up the Garden Furniture:

• Due to the winter season, the dampness and wet spells can build-up the potential rust and mould on your furniture. We all know that we do not use garden furniture so often during these colder months, therefore, it is good to disassemble the garden furniture into pieces and store them in the shed or in the garage. 

• Alternatively, you can also cover them with a tough waterproof sheet that can securely fixed around them, and can pack the cushions in the waterproof bags.

• Regularly maintaining the driveways and patios:

With the arrival of colder months, it brings and spreads a layer of blanket of snow onto the patios and driveways. However, de-icer can be used on such surfaces to remove the ice from the pathways. In addition, you will notice some discoloration once the ice or snow will disappear, but this will be only for the temporary and will fade away sooner.

• Protect your garden from water-logging and flooding

Water-logging and flooding in your garden can be prevented by your gardener installing the permeable paving as this quickly drains the water away rather than collecting the water in the garden.

All of these above-mentioned tips and tricks will aid you in preparing your garden for upcoming winter months. Either you can do this all by yourself, or you can hire best garden cleaning experts via Urban Gaffa platform.