As the rich colours of late summer begin to fade and the days grow shorter, the garden starts to settle into its quieter season. But before winter arrives, there are a few simple jobs worth doing to help plants through the colder months – and give wildlife a helping hand along the way.
Putting the garden to bed isn’t about making everything perfectly neat. In fact, a little untidiness can be a very good thing. It’s about knowing what to cut back, what to protect and, importantly, what to leave alone.
A little time spent in the garden now will help protect tender plants, reduce problems with pests and disease and prepare the ground for another season of growth.
Clear away what needs to go
Start by removing plants that are dead, diseased or badly damaged. Fallen leaves affected by disease are also best collected rather than left beneath plants, where fungal spores can survive and cause problems next year.
But don’t be too enthusiastic with the rake.
Healthy fallen leaves are one of the garden’s most useful natural materials. Gather them from lawns, paths and around plants that dislike damp conditions, but consider leaving some beneath hedges and in quiet corners. Here they’ll gradually break down and improve the soil while providing shelter for insects and other wildlife.
You can also collect leaves to make leaf mould – a wonderfully simple, free soil improver.
Don’t cut everything back
It’s tempting to reach for the secateurs as soon as plants begin to fade, but many perennials are worth leaving standing through winter.
The dried flower heads of plants such as sedums, teasels and echinacea can look beautiful when touched by frost. Their seeds also provide food for birds, while hollow stems and old growth create valuable hiding places for insects.
Cut back plants that have collapsed into a wet, untidy mass or are showing signs of disease, but leave strong, healthy stems and seed heads where you can.
You’ll be rewarded with winter structure in the garden – and perhaps a few more visiting birds.
Protect plants from frost
Tender plants and newly established specimens may need some extra protection when temperatures fall.
A layer of mulch around plants helps insulate the soil, protects roots from extremes of temperature and reduces moisture loss. Well-rotted compost, leaf mould and other suitable organic materials can all be used, depending on the plants you’re growing.
Keep mulch away from the crowns and stems of plants, however, as piling damp material directly against them can encourage rot.
Tender plants in containers may need moving to a sheltered position, while particularly vulnerable specimens can be protected with horticultural fleece when severe frost is forecast.
Be selective with pruning
Winter is a good time to prune some trees, shrubs and climbers, but not everything benefits from being cut back at this time of year.
Remove dead, damaged or crossing branches where appropriate, and prune plants that are suited to winter pruning. Avoid automatically cutting back every shrub simply because its leaves have fallen – pruning at the wrong time can mean removing next year’s flowers.
It’s always worth checking the needs of an individual plant before reaching for the secateurs.
Look after your soil
Winter preparation isn’t only about the plants you can see. Healthy soil is at the heart of a healthy garden.
Adding a layer of well-rotted organic matter to beds and borders helps protect the soil surface and allows worms and other organisms to gradually incorporate nutrients over the coming months.
Try to avoid walking on very wet soil, particularly heavy clay. Compacted soil contains less air and drains poorly, making life harder for both plant roots and the organisms living beneath the surface.
Make room for wildlife
One of the most useful things you can do for wildlife in winter is surprisingly simple: leave a few areas alone.
A small pile of logs, fallen leaves beneath a hedge, hollow stems and seed heads can provide food and shelter for insects, birds and small mammals at a time when both are harder to find.
If you feed garden birds, clean feeders regularly and provide suitable food throughout the colder months. Fresh water is just as important. On freezing days, check bird baths and other shallow water sources and break or remove any ice.
Even a small garden can become an important winter refuge.
One last look before winter
Before putting away the gardening tools, take a slow walk around the garden.
Move vulnerable pots somewhere sheltered, secure anything that might be damaged by winter winds and clear slippery leaves from paths and steps. Clean and store tools, empty watering equipment where necessary and make a note of anything you’d like to change next year.
Then resist the temptation to make the garden too tidy.
A garden in winter isn’t an empty garden. Beneath the soil, roots are resting and storing energy. Among fallen leaves and hollow stems, wildlife is finding shelter. Buds are already waiting on bare branches for the days to lengthen again.
By working with this natural rhythm rather than against it, you’ll help your garden through winter – ready for the first signs of spring and another year of growth.
Further Reading: My Garden Journal & Notes
