Top Tips For Preparing Your Garden For Winter

From patio care and lawn maintenance, to deck cleaning and repairing a fence, at AWBS we know that Autumn is the optimum season to prepare your outside areas for winter, so read on for our top tips for doing just that.

Why is it important to prepare your garden for winter?

You’re probably thinking there’s not much point doing anything in the Garden in Autumn (other than clearing leaves) as it’s cold and you’re not going to be hosting a garden party any time soon, however, preparing your garden during these months will give your patio, decking, grass, and plants the support they need for the cold months ahead. Your preparation in these months will mean by spring your garden will already be looking its best for summer, saving you time and money.

Borders

Borders add that much needed definition to any space, but left to their own accord over the winter months they can quickly become an eyesore and cause extra work come Spring, luckily, with just a few preparations this can be avoided:

• Use a compost heap to recycle annual plants into a rich feed for your flowerbeds.
• Add trees stakes to any weak trees or saplings to protect them from winter winds and snow.
• Mulching is a key autumn job, it protects the soil, suppresses weeds, and helps retain moisture and protects roots from frost. AWBS stock a range of mulch from our very own value range to Rolawn.

Lawns

Ignoring your lawn during autumn months could cause damage and weakness but there are important things you can do to help it:

• Remove old grass clippings and moss using a spring tined rake (remember to add these to your compost heap).
• Where soil is compacted, use a garden fork to make deep holes every 10cm, for improved aeration and drainage which is especially important during wet months.
• Feed your lawn with good quality lawn fertiliser, This will allow nutrients to be slowly released into the lawn and will help to fight weeds and moss.

Fences

It is cheaper to maintain your fencing than replace it, and it’s the windy autumn and winter months that will do the most damage, so keep on top of it and save yourself the hassle and cost of replacing it:

• Don’t ignore rotten fence posts or panels – it’s far more cost effective to replace a rotten fence post before it breaks in the wind and takes some fence panels with it meaning you then not only have to replace a post but also a couple of panels too.
• Protect and prolong the life of fences by treating and resealing them in early autumn when the timber is dry.

Decking

There’s nothing quite like sitting on your decking in summer with a glass of Pimm’s, but there’s nothing worse than having to jet wash and scrub it just as the summer starts but luckily there’s a few things you can do to make this chore go a whole lot faster:

• Remove any items that may trap water as this can lead to staining and algae buildup during the wet months. This includes planters and furniture if you have the space to store it elsewhere.
• Once you’ve cleared the decking and swept it thoroughly, give it a good wash with a solution of decking cleaner and rinse off.
• Finally protect it against rain, snow, and cold temperatures by applying a quality water repellent sealant while the weather is still relatively warm and dry.

While composite decking will not need to be sealed, it is still advisable to give ii a wash down before winter.

Patios & Driveways

Early autumn is the perfect time to give your patio, paths and driveways a bit of tlc before the winter months coat them with grime and moss:

• As with decking you should clear your patio and driveway as much as possible to avoid water puddling and causing stains on your slabs or bricks.
• Remove weeds and moss from the gaps between your slabs.
• Clean with a patio cleaning attachment for a pressure washer or with a quality patio cleaning solution and a brush.
• Finally, repoint your slabs if needed to avoid weeds regrowing through the gaps in the spring. Deteriorated joints will also allow water ingress which can lead to a whole host of paving problems including uneven slabs and even broken slabs especially if it freezes. This is easy to do yourself especially if you make use of an easy apply jointing compound such as Azpects Easyjoint.

For more patio care information and tips, read our guide “How to clean paving & patios”

Planting and plant care

Autumn provides the perfect opportunity to tidy boarders and get rid of dead vegetation. This season is all about giving your plants that little bit of extra support they will need in the coming months to ensure a lively display next spring:

• Cut back any damaged deciduous and evergreen shrubs so they come back even stronger next year, it’s also a good opportunity to cut them back into the shape you want them to be.
• Ensure they are well watered, although the winter months have lots of rain fall the ground is often frozen which makes it harder for water to penetrate.
• As mentioned in the borders section mulching is the best thing you can do for your plants in winter as it protects and enriches the soil while retaining moisture and protecting plants and soil from the worst effect of frost.

And finally, winter doesn’t have to mean no more gardening, there’s plenty of plants that you can grow in the winter, and many of these can be found at our sister company Oxford Garden Centre. There’s even a whole host of vegetables that can be grown during the winter, such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbages, kale, leeks and parsnips. Yes you can grow most of the Christmas dinner veggies yourself, so don’t hang up your gardening gloves just yet!