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At this time of year, I like to work through my autumn garden to-do list to make sure my outdoor space is looking good and safely protected for the colder months.
These October weekends with bright but slightly chilly weather are the ideal time to sort out any gardening jobs. It’s cool enough that you won’t get too hot and sticky while you work but it feels nice to have the sun on your face while you tidy up outside.
So I’ve put together a list of all the things I need to sort out in my garden before the winter comes and I thought it would be helpful to share this with you in case you’re tackling your autumnal backyard tasks too…
Clear out the clutter
I don’t know how it happens but every year I always have piles of stuff to clear out of the garden. Old pallets, leftover wood from DIY projects, broken pots and planters, snapped canes from the veggie patch and so on.
It’s as if we haven’t thrown anything away all year just in case it’ll come in useful. Well, if I haven’t used it by the end of the summer, I’m unlikely to need it now. Plus, I’ve got hedge trimmings and buddleia prunings to dispose of, so it’s time to clear all the piles of clutter out of my garden.
Sure it’s nice to keep a few branches and logs from the yearly eucalyptus tree trimmings stacked up for the local wildlife to shelter under, but I’m talking about all the piles of actual rubbish I’ve been hiding down the back of the shed and near the bin store.
So, I’ve got a couple of options for clearing the clutter; do a few runs to the local waste recycling centre or, to make the process easy skip hire is a handy option. This is my preferred choice when dealing with garden items because they’re likely to be wet or mucky and I’d rather not load that into my car to take it to the tip.
The smallest 4-yard skip doesn’t take up much room on the driveway and will hold about 45 bags of rubbish, making it ideal for clearing out a small shed. Just imagine how many times I’d need to drive to the waste recycling centre to clear out that quantity of bags.
It’s also handy for a general garden tidy-up, easily fitting in 20-30 wheelbarrow loads of outdoor waste, scraps of wood, even broken garden furniture or stuff from indoors, like boxes and DIY materials. Then I can just arrange for it to be collected once it’s full – no need to drive anywhere myself and my car stays clean!
Power cleaning
Fallen leaves make paths slippery over the winter, and slimy decking turns your patio into an ice-skating rink. So, lets get to work on cleaning any debris to make your outdoor surfaces safer so that you can continue using your garden over the winter.
If there’s still a hosepipe ban where you are, you might not be able to do the usual pressure-washing to clear slippery residue from your paving slabs and deck BUT there are a few other options.
Something I did last year was to use a firm broom to scrub the decking clean. It was really satisfying to foam up some washing-up liquid with the brush and use the bristles to clean between the grooves in the planks.
It got rid of all the mud that had accumulated on the deck and, because I was working outside after a few a rainy days, I could use the rainwater collected in my water butts to swish away the dirty foam.
Another option is to use a pressure washer that uses a bottle as the source of water, like my cordless Ryobi one. It gives you the same level of jet spray to rid the patio of green sludge but only using the amount of water that you’re able to refill into a bottle.
Overwintering plants
Although my garden is generally planted with species that remain outside all year round, I’ve got a few plants that I need to protect over the winter.
When I planted the garden, I chose non-deciduous shrubs and trees, so that I would still see green plants in the deepest darkest winter. But in the summer, I like to have a little bit of colour with flowering plants, and that’s where geraniums come in.
After a strip to Spain, I was determined to grow some big bushy specimens and I’ve found that gardening is great for self-care. We’ve managed to keep our potted geraniums alive for three years now, but they’re not suited to frosty temperatures, so that means taking them inside before the first frost.
But it’s not as easy as that – they need dead-heading, dead-leafing and cutting back, ready for their winter snooze. I also need to keep an eye on their watering needs throughout the cold seasons, so I move them to the bright window of our home office or into our makeshift greenhouse.
I think it’s definitely worth checking which plants can be saved by overwintering them. That way you can cut the ongoing costs of buying bright bedding plants by bringing out your potted flowers every year. Plus, my geraniums are now so large that it would cost too much to buy ones of this size!
Setting up a cosy corner
One final thing to do is to set up a cosy space on your freshly cleaned patio or deck so that you’ve got somewhere you can sit when you want to enjoy the garden this autumn.
Even if you plan to put away all your garden furniture in the garage for the winter (handy to prevent rusted metalwork or warped wood), it’s useful to keep out just a couple of chairs to give you a spot to enjoy when there sunny autumnal weather.
Always keep a cushion and blanket close by and you’ll be ready to pop outside with a cuppa and book whenever the sunshine, getting some much-needed fresh air and bright light to reset your circadian rhythm for better sleep.
I hope that you’ve found my to-do list for autumn garden tasks helpful and I’d love to hear what you usually do to prepare your garden for the winter. Let me know your checklist in the comments below – there’s probably something I’ve forgotten!
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