Preparing your garden for autumn

As keen gardeners know, the secret to a fabulous spring garden lies in what you do now. Autumn is an important transition period, a time to do some selective trimming, tidy up outdoor spaces and prep for the cool months ahead. To make it easy, we’ve divided autumn’s essential garden tasks over four weekends – a sequential action plan that will help you get it all covered, without feeling overwhelmed. So let’s get to preparing your garden for autumn!

Tip: Always wear the appropriate safety equipment (safety glasses, gloves, ear muffs and a mask, for example) and always follow the instructions for the product or equipment.

Weekend 1: Preparing your garden for autumn weather

Early autumn calls for a general tidy-up in the garden, as well as a little spraying and preparing. Our gardening tips for autumn include:

• Trim back excess growth on shrubs, and pruning rampant tendrils on climbing plants like star jasmine and wisteria. Pull out summer flowers and veggies that are dead or fading. Lightly prune back roses to encourage another crop of blooms.
• Dig out weeds from garden beds before their seedheads drop and germinate, only to reappear next spring. Spray lawn weeds with a lawn-specific herbicide or dig them right out by hand.
• Feed citrus trees, whether in pots or garden beds, and water well.
• Spray garden pests like aphids, which often cluster on new plant growth at this time of year. Also watch for scale insects on citrus trees – spray them with a horticultural oil.
• Buy bulbs now while there’s a good selection available. Varieties that like cold winters, such as tulips, hyacinths and daffodils, can be placed in the fridge for 4-6 weeks before planting.

Did you know?

• Cool projects: With its milder temperatures and plenty of daylight hours, autumn is the best time of year for landscape projects. If you’ve been thinking about replacing paving or laying a new path, now is the time to get into it. The same goes for any garden carpentry jobs, like replacing decking or building a raised veggie bed. Or, for a winter-friendly outdoor space, consider installing a fire-pit zone. For this, you’ll need to clear a circular area, install a flooring of pavers or crushed granite and bring in some seating. Then place a fire pit in the centre and get ready to enjoy cosy outdoor gatherings throughout the cooler months.
• Kindest cuts: Give roses an autumn tidy by deadheading (cutting off spent blooms) and removing – and binning – diseased foliage. Use clean sharp secateurs and sterilise blades between cuts. Keep an eye out for pests, too.
• Lift and separate: When flowers and foliage have died off, dig up dahlia tubers, shake off soil and divide the clumps. Place them, eye pointing up, on a bed of potting mix and sawdust, cover lightly with this mix and store in a cool dark place.

Weekend 2: Begin planting and feeding

Some planting and feeding now will keep your autumn garden plans right on track. Follow these top gardening tips for autumn to give your garden a boost.

• Plant seedlings or seeds of cool-season vegetables, such as peas, broccoli, broad beans and spinach. Coriander loves the cooler weather, too – sow seeds directly into crumbly, moist soil, cover lightly with seed-raising mix and water regularly with a fine mist spray until they germinate.
• Fertilise your lawn to encourage grass to thicken and green up before the winter slowdown. Use a granular lawn food that contains plenty of organic material to enrich the soil beneath, and make sure it’s watered in thoroughly.
• Feed everything in the garden with an organic fertiliser such as blood and bone or manure pellets.

Tip: Use a wheelbarrow to move heavy fertiliser bags around the garden.

• Rake up autumn leaves as they fall and pile them into jumbo-sized garbage bags (with a few holes poked through). Set them aside and let them rot down for a few months into leaf mould, then use it as a mulch or soil conditioner.
• Plant spring-flowering favourites like cineraria, stocks, primula, lobelia, pansies and foxgloves for a colourful display in a few months’ time.
• Get creative! Pretty up the autumn garden with potted colour. Look for blooming perennials such as chrysanthemums, asters, dahlias, Japanese anemones, penstemons and rudbeckias. Plant a few in decorative containers or fill empty pockets in garden beds.

Did you know?

• Sugar snap peas can be grown through winter in warm zones, but wait until the danger of frost has passed in colder areas.
• Plant asters now for a glorious splash of late-season colour. For best results, grow in a sunny, airy position.

Weekend 3: Composting and garden love

Celebrate the season with new trees and shrubs – autumn is the best time to get them established.

• Seek out autumn-foliage stunners like maples and crepe myrtles while they’re showing off their seasonal colours. Now is also a good time to plant autumn-flowering shrubs like sasanqua camellias and tibouchinas.
• Get into composting by buying a compost bin. Alternate layers of dry fallen leaves with moist materials like kitchen scraps and grass clippings. Sprinkle over a few handfuls of cow manure every few layers, and use a garden fork to mix everything together. Turn the heap every few weeks – by spring you’ll have a great soil improver that’s ready to go.
• Give hedges a pre-winter trim to tidy them up. Trim only lightly, especially in cold areas, as most plants will generate no new growth until next spring.
• Plant a few strawberry plants so you’ll have fruit to pick by spring. In the garden, they like raised-up beds, a layer of surface mulch and plenty of sunlight. If using pots, plant them in a good-quality potting mix and feed with soluble fertiliser every three weeks or so.

Weekend 4: Finishing planting and winter preparation

Finish off planting before the cold weather arrives and get your outdoor living zones winter-ready.

• Plant bulbs that have been chilling in the fridge. Follow the planting depth and spacing listed on the packaging. If planting in pots, you can pack them in more closely to create a dense flower display.
• Use a high-pressure cleaner to remove moss and mildew from outdoor living areas and paths – the cooler days and reduced sunshine over the next few months can leave those outdoor surfaces slippery.
• Install frost protection where winters are cold to protect any tender plants that you can’t move. The easiest approach is to build a frame and cover it each night with frost cloth, plastic, bubble wrap, hessian or something similar.
• Make a garden-inspired gift for Mother’s Day. Two easy ideas: plant up a decorative bowl with miniature cyclamen for colour right through winter; or take the culinary route and fill a pot or basket with herbs (you’ll find a good selection available at this time of year).

Keep in mind...

• Wear gloves and a mask when handling mulch, compost and potting mix and also when pruning, along with long sleeves, as the leaves and sap of some plants can be a skin irritant and cause allergic reactions.
• Store all garden chemicals and products out of reach of children and pets.
• Check fire pit manufacturers’ safety/set-up advice and local authority regulations for open fires. Position fire pits away from combustible structures; only burn dry, sustainably forested timber.
• When using power tools, always wear the recommended safety gear (such as gloves, mask and eye and ear protection), and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

After more autumn plant inspo?

Take a look at four deciduous trees and shrubs that put the colour in autumn.

Photo credit: Adobe Stock, Alamy Stock, Getty Images