How to Prepare Your Garden for Winter: The Autumn Jobs Worth Doing Now

As summer comes to an end, it can be tempting to close the back door on the garden and leave everything until spring. But autumn is actually one of the most useful times of year to give your garden some attention.

The aim isn't simply to make it look neat. Good autumn garden maintenance helps protect plants, lawns, hard landscaping and garden structures through the colder, wetter months ahead. It can also make a considerable difference to how much work the garden needs once spring arrives.

If you're wondering how to prepare your garden for winter, these are the jobs we think are worth prioritising.

1. Clear leaves - particularly where they can cause problems

A few fallen leaves in borders aren't a problem and can actually provide shelter for wildlife. But thick layers of wet leaves sitting on your lawn can block light and air from reaching the grass underneath.

Leaves should also be cleared from patios, paths, steps and drainage points where they can become slippery or restrict the flow of rainwater.

You don't need to chase every leaf around the garden. Concentrate on the places where they can actually cause damage or create a problem.

2. Cut back selectively

An autumn tidy doesn't mean cutting everything down to ground level.

Some perennials will have collapsed and can be removed, while others have strong stems or attractive seed heads that continue to give the garden structure throughout winter. Leaving selected plants standing can also provide valuable habitat for insects and wildlife.

The trick is to remove what's tired, damaged or likely to become messy while retaining the parts of the garden that will continue to work through winter. It's one of the reasons a considered garden tidy usually looks very different from simply clearing everything away.

3. Look after your lawn before winter

If your lawn has had a busy summer and been affected by the drought, autumn provides an opportunity to give it some attention before growth slows considerably.

Depending on the lawn's condition and the weather, useful autumn lawn jobs can include:

• Scarifying to remove excess thatch

• Aerating compacted areas

• Treating moss where appropriate

• Applying an autumn lawn feed

• Repairing worn or damaged areas

Autumn lawn treatments are different from those used during the main growing season. At this time of year the focus is on developing a healthy, resilient lawn rather than encouraging lots of soft green growth.

4. Check fencing, gates and timber structures

Fences and gates often reveal their weaknesses during the first spell of strong winter weather.

Autumn is therefore a sensible time to walk around the garden and look for loose posts, unstable panels, sticking gates, damaged hinges or timber that needs attention. The same applies to pergolas, screens and other garden structures.

Catching a small problem before winter is generally much easier than dealing with a collapsed fence after a storm.

5. Check patios, paths and drainage

Hard landscaping deserves some seasonal attention too. Leaves, algae and general debris can make patios and paths increasingly slippery as the weather becomes wetter.

It's also worth looking for:

• Loose or deteriorating joints

• Movement in paving

• Blocked drainage channels

• Areas where water is beginning to collect

• Damaged steps or edging

Water is one of the biggest challenges for gardens during a British winter, so making sure it can drain away properly is particularly important.

6. Protect plants that need it

Not every plant needs wrapping up for winter, but some will benefit from additional protection.

Newly planted specimens can be more vulnerable while they establish their root systems, while tender plants and pots may need moving to a more sheltered position. Depending on the plant and location, protection might include mulching, horticultural fleece or moving containers closer to the house.

The important thing is to protect the plants that genuinely need it rather than treating everything in the garden in the same way.

7. Don't forget your borders

Autumn is a useful opportunity to get borders back under control. Removing weeds now prevents many of them becoming a much bigger job in spring, while clearing dead or diseased material can help maintain healthier planting.

A mulch can also be applied to suitable borders to improve the soil, help suppress weeds and protect roots.

And because plants are beginning to die back, autumn often gives you a much clearer view of the underlying structure of a border. You can see where planting has become overcrowded, where there are gaps and where the overall design could be improved.

Autumn maintenance protects the investment you've already made

Whether you've invested in a complete garden redesign or simply spent years gradually improving your outdoor space, seasonal maintenance helps protect that investment.

A good autumn tidy isn't about leaving the garden completely bare. It's about making considered decisions about what needs cutting back, what needs protecting, what needs repairing and what can be left alone.

Done well, the garden should still have character and structure throughout winter while being much better prepared for the season ahead.

Need some help getting your garden ready for winter?

At JPC Garden Design & Landscaping, we provide seasonal garden services alongside our garden design and landscaping work across Bishops Stortford, Sawbridgeworth and the surrounding areas.

Our Autumn Garden Tidy service can include seasonal cutting back, border clearance, lawn care, leaf clearance, checks to garden structures, patio care, plant protection and garden waste removal, depending on what your garden needs. Garden waste removal is included subject to terms and conditions.

If you'd like us to take care of your garden before winter arrives, get in touch to find out more about our Autumn Garden Tidy service and current availability.