5 things to prepare your garden for winter

Winter is coming, and that means you will need to start thinking about preparing your garden. Luckily as we live in the UK this doesn’t mean you have to put the whole thing ‘to bed’ as most plants will go on to grow well into the month of December.

Though obviously you will have to do a few things (or at least 7 even) to prepare you’re outside habitat for the coming winter and I will be listing theses below.

Don’t injure yourself – stay safe in the garden with these safety tips

1 – Leave those seed heads alone.

Yes, tidying up your garden will leave it looking neat and tidy but leaving seed heads on plants will be much appreciated by wildlife particularly birds who will be able to feed on them during the winter period.

2 – Take advantage of the still warm soil

Soil is still warm at this time of year so finish of planting your evergreens and take this time to prepare the soil for planting your deciduous trees and shrubs

3 – Sort out permanent borders

Sort your permanent borders by weeding and top dressing between the plants with any type of mulch, which will weeds at bay and keep moisture in the ground.

4 – Rake up those leaves

Rake up all the leaves from your garden as these can make one of the best composts and if you’re low on them why not ask your neighbours for some of theirs. Compost these separately and next year you will have yourself a great material suitable for top dressing borders and digging in to the ground.

5 – Protect your delicate plants

Protect them with horticultural fleece, wrapping the plant up like it was in a blanket and securing with string. Alternatively you can buy fleece jackets that you simply pull down over the plant and then secure with a drawstring located at the base.

6 – Plant bulbs for spring

Plant bulbs now and when spring comes along those bulbs that you have probably forgotten about will rear their heads and flower and brighten up the garden.

7 – Take care of grass areas

Take care of your grass areas if you want them to look their best next year. Keep cutting if required but raise the blades of the mower so as not to scalp the grass. Aerate the lawn with a machine or for smaller lawns, with a garden fork.