Autumn has arrived and it is time to prepare the garden for winter. Not sure where to start? Do you want to know if you have forgotten something? With these tips you can prepare the garden for winter, so that you can enjoy a green and blooming garden again in the spring.
Autumn is the ideal time to get to grips with your pruning shears. This applies not only to a conifer or boxwood hedge, but also to plants that have now finished flowering. Please note:plants with flowers are best pruned immediately after flowering. You don't have to wait until fall to do this. In fact, if you remove flowers that have finished blooming in the spring only in the fall, the plant will not bloom the following year.
When pruning the hydrangea, you should look at which variety you have in the garden. Hydrangeas that form buds in the fall should not be pruned. It is also advisable to only prune hydrangeas by half each year, so that the plant has enough time to recover.
Many people assume that you should also prune the butterfly bush in the fall, but that is not true. The butterfly bush should not be pruned until February/March. If you prune these too early, there is a good chance that the branches will freeze.
Provide sharp tools and limit pruning to the months of September and October. In November it is usually much too cold, which means that the plants cannot recover sufficiently until the frost arrives.
It's autumn and that means that the lawn also needs rest. Depending on the temperatures, it is also better not to mow grass after October. In this way, the grass gets the space to get through the cold period. Maintain a height of 5 cm for the last mowing.
Incidentally, the months of October and November are the perfect time to sow a new lawn. That's because the ground is still warm enough from the summer and the chance of walking on the newly sown grass is considerably smaller. Moreover, it rains more often in the autumn, which promotes the growth of new grass.
Do you have bare spots in your lawn? Then October and November are the perfect months to sow new grass here.
Before the first frost arrives, you should remove annuals. The stems and leaves will then rot, making it very dirty. Use the open space to plant spring bulbs in it. Do you want something blooming in the garden in the fall? Then choose winter violets or, for example, heather.
The leaves turn from green to red and yellow and will all fall off in the fall. This creates a lot of clutter. Try to set aside five minutes each day to rake up the fallen leaves. Put these leaves in the GRP container or throw them on the compost. You can of course also use the fallen leaves as natural soil protection. Then rake the fallen leaves under trees and shrubs.
Make sure you are prepared for anything weather wise. Even though it's only autumn, it can just freeze. Protect plants that need it from frost. You can protect the plants with bubble wrap, a special rose bag or rake a pile of fallen leaves around the plant at the bottom. Place plants that are sensitive to frost indoors or in an area where there is no frost (the best temperature is 5 – 10°C). Leave your leafy plants away from the light, deciduous plants can be put away in the dark. Make sure that the soil is kept slightly moist.
Do you have a pond in the garden? Make sure it is also ready for the winter. Prevent the leaves from falling into the pond by stretching a net over it. Is frost forecast? Then the pond must be kept open with a hole. You can create a hole by using a water pump that keeps the water moving.
In the summer, the animals can take care of themselves. When winter and cold set in, you can give the birds in your garden a helping hand by hanging peanuts and spreading bird food. If you have hedgehogs in the garden, make sure that they have a nice place to hibernate.
Is your garden ready for the winter or do you still have a lot to do?
