Welcome to Handy Household’s guide to preparing your garden for autumn. In this guide we will be covering some great gardening tips for the colder months. Including what to plant, how to protect your garden from frost and much more.

Before starting work on your garden, you should protect yourself from the cold, wet weather. Below is a list of products Handy Household recommend:

• Wellingtons
• Waterproof Thermal Gloves
• Thermal Hat
• Neck Warmer

Now you’re protected from the cold, we can start preparing your garden!

Mow your lawn

Grass will grow slower in the colder months but won’t stop completely, so it’s important to cut your grass while there are still some dry days left. Check the weather to find a day with a clear sky and cut your grass before it’s too late. As we all know the autumn/winter months bring a lot of rain. Excess rain can cause your garden to become waterlogged, making it extremely challenging to mow your lawn.

Protect your grass

Protecting your grass with a product such as “Miracle-Gro EverGreen Autumn Lawn Care” can help protect your lawn from harsh winter weather. It will kill moss, increases strength & health while promoting growth.

Rake leaves and put them to good use

Keep your garden tidy by raking the leaves that fall off any trees. We would recommend using an anti-clog rake, especially if the leaves are wet. Once you’ve raked up your leaves, why not put them to good use? Pile up your leaves and put them to one side. Once they decompose, they will create ‘leaf mould’ – a fantastic natural soil conditioner. Leaf mould will enrich your soil, increase its ability to retain water and give your planets the micronutrients they need to grow.

Clean any debris

Whether it’s fallen fruit or foiling from flowers, it’s time to clean it up. Debris like this can cause disease and you may lose your beloved plants, so it’s very important you remove it as soon as possible.

Clean your greenhouse

There isn’t much sunlight left in the day as the winter months fall upon us. A dirty greenhouse will stop sunlight reaching your plants and may cause them to wither and even die, so ensure your greenhouse is clean and free from debris.

Cover your plants

The weather in the autumn/winter months can get wild. Strong winds may destroy your plants, heavy rain can drown them and let’s not forget about the frost We would recommend covering vulnerable plants to protect them. You can use a plant warming fleece cover, it will keep your plants safe, secure and warm.

Plant Bulbs

We know spring seems a long way away, but it will come before you know it. Autumn is the best time to plant spring-flowering bulbs. It’s very easy to plant them when you’re using a bulb planter. Simply place the cylinder end of the bulb planter where you want to plant the bulb and push down to the required depth and pull the soil out. Place your bulb inside the hole and release the soil from the bulb planter to cover the bulb.

Protect your pond

It’s important to maintain your pond once autumn hits, as decomposing leaves turn your pond water foul and can block filters on pumps. To save yourself some time, we would recommend covering your pond with a net, it’s much easier to remove leaves from a net than the water.

Stock up bird feeders

Birds will find less food come autumn, help them out by stocking up your bird feeders.