As the days have got shorter and colder, my life has moved indoors and away from the garden.
We have had an amazingly long and colourful mild autumn up to now, but the past few days has seen plenty of rain to fill up that water butt.
In My Garden
In Your Garden
If you haven’t already managed it, now’s the time for a general garden tidy up before the winter months. It’s also a great time to start thinking about colour and flowers to see you through the winter and spring.
Hellebores can be planted in to the ground or pots for early winter flowering and are perfect in shadier spots.
Get your spring bulbs in the ground. Go for a good mix of daffs and narcissi in different colours and sizes. Layer them up to create a beautiful effect when they flower. Again great in any beds or shady spaces.
This is your last chance to deadhead and prune back so check all your flowers and plants and give them a bit of TLC. Prune any roses or rose bushes ready for next year. Careful of the thorns!
Give any perennials (plants that grows each year) a good tidy and prune to ensure they are in a good state for next year’s growth.
Start to remove any non-hardy plants ahead of first frost.
Rake or sweep any leaves from the lawn or patio.
Give the lawn a last mow if it’s not too wet and a treatment of moss remover too.
Put away all garden tools and hose pipes.
Store any glazed pots inside to avoid them cracking during a frost.
Put your garden furniture away or cover over for the winter.
Wrap insulation around outdoor taps and pipes. It’s meant to be a cold one this winter and frozen pipes aren’t ideal.
Make a hedgehog house or space for hibernating animals. This can be made out of a cardboard box or create a pile of leaves or log pile in the corner of the garden. Make sure these are protected and where they won’t be disturbed. The RSPCA have a lovely little guide here on caring for hedgehogs.
Is anyone else tackling a few gardening jobs this month?