Autumn Gardening Tasks For The Approaching Seasons
Autumn is a charming season in Somerset, with its radiant hues and crisp air. As well as being a period of outstanding beauty, autumn is also the time for essential gardening tasks to ensure the health of your landscape into the new year.
The appropriate garden maintenance and preparation are required during this time to ensure your garden continues to thrive well into the winter and is ready to bloom again next spring.
Now that school has reopened for the new year and the days are getting shorter, it is the perfect time to dust off your gardening tools one last time and get your landscape prepared for the end of the year.
At Avery Gardens & Grounds Maintenance, we specialise in providing exceptional care to all kinds of landscapes across the region. We offer a range of solutions for gardens, grounds and estates, helping our clients maintain high standards in every season.
Using our expertise and passion for landscaping, we are sharing the most critical autumn gardening tasks to start now to ensure your garden will thrive in the changing seasons.
Must-Do Autumn Gardening Tasks 2024
The shifting seasons are the perfect time to revitalise your garden and intensify your maintenance routine. Autumn can be a beautiful season in outdoor spaces, but only if they receive the right care to thrive under these new conditions.
As the days become shorter, trees start shedding their leaves and temperatures decrease, now is the prime time to begin these autumn gardening tasks to give your garden its best shot next spring.
There are many ways that you can prepare your garden for the colder months and a fresh start next spring, including:
1. Clear Away Fallen Leaves
Tools Needed: Rake, leaf blower, compost bin.
Dealing with fallen leaves is one of the most obvious autumn gardening tasks, but this does not mean it should be handled lightly.
As autumn approaches, your garden will start to get carpeted with fallen leaves from neighbouring trees and shrubs. While this can be quite a scenic spectacle, fallen leaves need to be cleared promptly as they can trigger a series of issues for your garden.
Leaves can stifle your lawn and invite pests, jeopardising the rest of your garden, which is why clearing leaves as soon as possible is so important during this season. Not only do you need to clear fallen leaves, but continue to do so as the season progresses to prevent issues in your landscape.
This can be easily done using a rake or leaf blower, so you can gather all the leaves into piles for easy removal. Once collected, you can choose to turn the leaves into compost for future use or apply them directly as mulch for your flower beds to keep your garden healthy during the season.
2. Lawn Maintenance
Tools Needed: garden fork or aerator, autumn lawn fertiliser, grass seeds
Autumn provides a great opportunity to refresh your lawn before the severity of winter sets in, and allows you to prepare it for the harsher weather so it can be lush once more come spring.
Three core autumn gardening tasks are crucial to safeguard your lawn and keep it looking pristine until the season’s end:
Aerate
Aeration plays a key role in autumn lawn care. Using a garden fork or an aerator, punch small holes in the lawn to allow air, water, and nutrients to reach the roots and deeply nourish your lawn as the cold weather arrives.
Fertilise
After aeration, each blade of grass can effortlessly absorb the nutrients it needs to thrive throughout the chilliest seasons and now you can begin to feed the grass to help it survive the changing seasons.
To fertilise the lawn during autumn, apply a potassium-rich, autumn-specific fertiliser. This type of fertiliser will boost the grass’s resistance to diseases during the coldest temperatures, promising a lush, green lawn next spring.
Overseed
It’s a great idea to overseed the lawn during the autumn to manage any bare patches that might have appeared during the busy summer months and ensure you will have a lush, vibrant lawn next year.
Overseed the thin or bare patches with grass seeds and make sure the area is properly watered and undisturbed for as long as possible to enable new grass growth.
3. Prune Shrubs and Trees
Tools Needed: Pruning shears, loppers, saw.
Pruning your shrubs and trees is another one of the most important autumn gardening chores. Depending on the type of trees you have, you can use pruning shears, loppers, and saws for this task.
You can prune trees and shrubs for autumn on your own, but larger or overgrown plants might require help from our landscapers to ensure your safety as well as the health of the landscape.
When pruning shrubs or trees, you need to ensure you are using sharp tools as these allow for a close, clean cut and preserve the health of the plant. Use the shears or saw to carefully remove dead, diseased, or damaged branches from the trees to help prepare your trees and shrubs for their winter sleep.
4. Plant Spring Bulbs
Tools Needed: Trowel, bulb planter, compost.
Autumn is the ideal time to prepare for a colourful spring garden, which is why planting is one of the best autumn gardening tasks to get started on now.
You can plant spring bulbs, including daffodils, tulips, and crocuses, during the autumn to ensure a vibrant and lively garden when the warmer weather returns next year.
While planting, make sure you add bulbs to a well-drained spot. Dig holes three times the depth of the bulb, plant the bulb, and cover it with soil after placing it pointed side up. Lightly water the bulb during the season and wait for the colours to emerge next year.
5. Mulching
Tools Needed: Wood chips, straw, compost
Mulching is another crucial autumn gardening task as it protects your plants and soil during the cold months.
Organic mulch like wood chips, straw, and compost are easy to find and affordable, making them suitable for all gardens. Spread the mulch around perennials, trees, and shrubs to insulate the roots and retain soil moisture throughout the season.
When mulching, particularly with organic materials, avoid stacking it against plant stems as this could lead to rot and cause more problems across your garden.
6. Clean and Store Garden Tools
Tools Needed: Wire brush, blade sharpener, shed or similar dry storage space
Proper care of your gardening tools significantly improves their lifespan and performance, making it one of the most critical autumn gardening tasks this season.
Keeping your gardening tools clean and well-maintained is crucial for their prolonged use, and now is the perfect time to organise them ahead of spring.
Use water and a wire brush to clean all your garden tools before storing them. Take some time to sharpen any blades and oil any moving parts before storing them for winter.
After this cleaning and maintenance, securely store your gardening tools in a dry, sheltered place such as a garden shed.
7. Tidy Flower Beds
Tools Needed: Gardening gloves, hand fork, compost bin
During autumn, you will need to tidy up any flower beds in your garden so they are ready to use once more come spring.
For this important autumn gardening task, start by removing spent annuals and weeds. This can be done by hand or by using small gardening forks to avoid disturbing the soil. Any discarded flowers can go in the compost bin.
Overgrown perennials can be dug up, divided, and replanted back into the flower beds for better growth and plant health management next spring.
8. Safeguard Delicate Plants
Tools Needed: Fleece or burlap wraps, cold frames
As temperatures begin to drop, some delicate plants might need extra protection to survive the winter. In such instances, moving potted plants indoors or to a sheltered spot can benefit your overall garden.
Sensitive plants that need to stay outdoors can be covered with fleece or burlap, and cloches or cold frames can provide added protection when it’s needed the most.
9. Prepare The Greenhouse
Tools Needed: Glass cleaner, plant pots and trays
If you have a greenhouse, now’s the time to get it ready for winter. Dedicate some time this season to cleaning the glass to optimise light, checking heaters and ventilation, and organising pots, trays, and tools.
These autumn gardening tasks will give your greenhouse plants the best chance to survive the coldest months of the year.
10. Plan and Prep for Spring
Tools Needed: Gardening calendar or diary, seeds, creativity
Lastly, use the tranquillity of autumn to get a head start on the seasons to come. Use this time to review the successes and challenges of this year’s gardening experience, as it can help you make better decisions next year.
As things start to wind down and more time is spent indoors, you can begin to plan your planting schedule for the upcoming year. Once you have a plan, you can start ordering seeds and plants to ensure a smooth gardening journey in the new year.
Conclusion
Accomplishing these autumn gardening tasks will not only keep your garden looking its best but also lay the foundation for a vibrant and thriving landscape in the spring.
At Avery Gardens & Grounds Maintenance, we are passionate about helping you maintain a beautiful garden, grounds or estate throughout the year. Our team of experts is always ready to offer professional advice and services tailored to your needs.
Contact Us Today
For professional landscaping services, contact us today to schedule a consultation. Enjoy the beauty of your garden each season with Avery Gardens & Grounds Maintenance by your side.
