5 ways to get your garden ready for winter

Once your trees are bare, it’s essential to clear all the leaves and debris: this can be rapidly done using a leaf blower or sweeper. It’s also worth giving your paving a thorough clean with some soapy water before the frost arrives: a high-pressure cleaner, like the STIGA HPS 235 R, will make the job quick and easy. Cleaning paths, driveways and other hard-surface areas means makes them safer to walk on, as they’ll be less damp and slippery during the wet winter period.

Tidying your borders by cutting-down perennials and removing any leaves, weeds and dead foliage is a must-do task: by choosing the correct machine, such as a battery lawn-trimmer, this can be done quickly and quietly. Remember to not cut-back deciduous grasses; these should be left until late February, as the dead foliage helps protect the plant’s crown.

This is also the perfect time to spread well-rotted material from your compost-bin across any fresh soil, in order to set it up for the spring and make it look more presentable during the fallow months. 

Go over your entire lawn with a hand-rake or powered scarifier – this will remove any thatch or moss accumulation, allowing the turf to breathe and the grass to grow more freely. If you do have a large amount of moss invading your green space, there’s a good chance you have drainage issues - a session with a spike-type aerator will help considerably. Combine these steps with the application of specially produced autumn lawn-feed and moss-killer products to give your lawn even more help and encouragement.

Heavy and prolonged periods of snow and ice can be hazardous for trees and plants: avoid severe damage and possible plant-death by clearing any snow lying on leaves, branches and lawn-areas while it’s still soft, fresh and easy to remove.

Stay on guard and make sure your snow thrower or sweeper are ready!

In terms of day-to-day tasks, the garden is a fairly quiet place during winter – it’s therefore the ideal time to put in place plans for the forthcoming new season. Even though the growing-period is over, experienced gardeners are well aware there’s still work to do with spring fast approaching.

For example, if you’re thinking about a garden redesign, it’s important to layout your plans with pen and paper, so as to make sure you know exactly what you want. Whether you’re looking to create a new bed from scratch, or just want to give existing borders a facelift, it’s always best to plan properly before starting work.