A few hours of end-of-season tidying sets your garden up beautifully for autumn and next spring. Here's your checklist.
Created by jflgardens.co.uk
As the season winds down, a focused tidy pays off all year: it keeps disease at bay, gives plants a strong finish and saves you a mountain of work in spring. Here's what's genuinely worth doing as summer turns to autumn.
Continue mowing but leave the grass a little longer as growth slows, and apply an autumn feed that builds strong roots rather than forcing leafy growth. Rake out thatch and bare patches now so they can knit over before winter.
Snipe back spent perennials, remove tired foliage and clear fallen debris before it rots onto the lawn. Leave some seed heads for the birds if you can, but generally a good autumn tidy keeps disease and slugs in check.
Move tender plants and containers of geraniums, fuchsias and citrus into the greenhouse or a sheltered, frost-free spot. Drain and store empty pots, and wrap or lift any borderline-hardy plants that won't cope with a cold snap.
Give mowers and tools a clean and service now, when there's time, rather than at the busy spring rush. Everything prepped and put away, the garden itself will look neat, and you'll start the new season ahead of the game.
From seasonal garden care to a full seasonal-style overhaul, the JFL Gardens team works across Surrey and London.
