Getting your garden Winter-ready!

In the Garden

The first frost has arrived almost exactly as expected in early to mid November. Reliably the same time every year.

This does not seem to have impacted on some of the perennials. Rudbeckia is still going strong and the roses are still pushing up buds after they've had a mulch of the well rotted variety and a light prune.

One of the benefits of climate change for gardeners is that the gap between perennials and spring bulbs is less which makes it easier to have year round colour. Take note of what still flowers well into winter like Penstemon, Black Eyed Susan, Geums, Salvia and Geraniums (Rozanne). If you have a few Nerines here and there, things will look brighter all round for longer.

The first frost is often the antecedent to panic around protecting tender plants like dahlias, bananas and tree ferns. Think of anything you can do to keep the frost out. Move them indoors or into the greenhouse, cover with fleece or bubblewrap or even newspaper.

Putting over a layer of mulch will protect dahlias in our temperate climate as long as it is a thick one. Around four inches of leaf mould, compost or even bark will do. Drop it around the roots but not touching them and it will insulate them ready for next year. In some cases, particularly roses, it will provide them with slow release feed to keep producing flowers right through if you are lucky.

Once the herbaceous perennials have turned brown, and this can be almost instantaneous, cut them down and apply the mulch. Compost the dead stems, but snip them into smaller pieces before adding to the compost. This way they will have more surface area to rot down quicker and you won’t be left with long black sticks when next year's bins are emptied.

On the Plot

Moving into the last two weeks of meteorological autumn, it’s time to make sure the beds are cleared of anything that won't survive the winter. Let’s not forget, El Nino and the Met Office are warning of severe cold snaps so we should be getting things in order before the ground turns rock hard.

Keep skimming the tops off weeds so that you don’t end up with giant weeds that set a million seeds in spring. Uproot them if you can, followed by a thick mulch to prevent them accessing any light for a month or so. Doing the work now while you have more time will make life easier when they start to put on rapid growth.

If you're only going to visit the veg plot every few weeks or so then make sure you turn the compost over. You can’t just leave things and expect John Innes no 1 to be staring back at you in March. You want every part of the compost to have a turn in the middle where it’s hot so everything can decompose equally. Obviously this is slower in winter so it's even more important. All it takes is a quick stir around with a fork plunged into a bin and it's done.

Cover any bare patches with ink free cardboard after you've removed any tape. I might start a campaign for a well known delivery company to use biodegradable tape! This will stop perennial weeds taking hold and keep essential nutrients locked in and not get washed away.

Netting brassicas is also essential. Pigeons in particular have core group meetings about which brassicas are vulnerable and how to gain not so discreet access. It can look like a herd of elephants has passed through after a pigeon raid. Choose strong stakes pushed deep into the soil with secure netting. Don’t bother with a scarecrow, they only act as a convenient roosting point.

We can still enjoy the garden in colder seasons, it just means we undertake more protective or preparatory tasks.