Prepare your garden for winter
Winter can be a harsh time for your garden, but there are several steps you can take this autumn that will protect your garden for the cold winter months and prepare your garden for a spring bloom. Here are our top tips to help you prepare your garden for winter.
1. Address your borders: Clear up your borders and clean out any old annuals, you can then spend time planting winter bedding plants such as wallflowers and pansies, resulting in a colourful bloom next spring. When you're finished, add a thick layer of compost, manure or bark chippings over the top.
2. Make the most of last year's compost: Autumn is a great time to clear out your compost bin and use the contents around the garden to protect it in the winter months.
3. Don't forget evergreens: The more evergreens and winter-bloomers you have in your garden, the better it will look through the winter. Autumn is the perfect time to add some more evergreens and winter plants to your garden and fill in any gaps - snowdrops, Christmas roses and witch hazel all bloom in winter, adding colour to an otherwise stark space.
4. Protect your trees from winter critters: Wrapping young tree trunks with tree guards or wire will help to protect them from winter critters and help see them through until spring.
5. Sow your autumn harvest vegetables: Autumn harvest vegetables, including carrots, beetroot, lettuce and other root vegetables should be sown in autumn, so get those beds prepared as soon as possible to encourage a good harvest next year.
*And don't forget the wildlife this winter - bird feeders look lovely and serve a real purpose in the colder months!
