As autumn starts setting in, it is time to think about your garden’s requirements to maintain its health in the colder weather. Preparing your lawn for autumn (and winter) is vital to ensure you will have a good foundation to build back upon by the time spring comes around.
Not sure what you need to do to prepare for the season? There is no reason to worry. In this guide, we will show you our favourite autumn gardening tips to ensure your lawn and outdoor space is ready for the weather changes.
Practical autumn gardening tips
As each season comes around, your garden and outdoor space have unique needs that you need to tend to. Below, we’ve pulled together some of the most important autumn gardening and lawn care advice to help you get ready for the latter part of the year.
Aerate, feed, and scarify
Those summer evenings and weekends are best spent in the garden, but frequent use can lead to your lawn becoming compacted. Therefore, part of an autumn lawn care routine is to relieve this pressure on your lawn – ideally using a tiller or rotovator. These tools will perforate and churn the soil to allow air, water, and nutrients to get down into the roots of your garden, promoting stronger, healthier grass.
Scarifying your lawn will help to prevent the spread of fungal diseases and create space for healthy grass to grow. Scarifiers are designed to remove the top layer of dead material, usually referred to as thatch, from your lawn. Removing thatch as part of an autumn lawn care routine helps your remaining grasses to receive as much sunlight as they can (which is particularly important as the days shorten).
Top tip: after aeration, add a potassium-rich autumn lawn feed to reintroduce essential nutrients back into the soil and build resilience for the cold months ahead.
Autumn lawn care
Autumn brings with it new challenges. As the trees shed their leaves, they can quickly dominate your lawn and flower beds. Regularly cleaning your garden of fallen leaves and debris can save your grass from being smothered, and prevent the spread of pests and disease. If you have a pond, spend some time skimming the top for fallen leaves to prevent clogging. You may even wish to install a net over the top of your pond to keep the water leaf-free over autumn.
Our high-quality leaf blowers and garden vacuums are designed to handle that autumnal leaf fall with speed and ease, significantly reducing the time and effort required to keep it in check.
Top tip: instead of disposing of this garden waste, why not start your own home composting pile? With proper maintenance, this waste can then be reused when spring comes back to help your garden grow and stay healthy.
Protect and prune
Autumn gardening provides the perfect opportunity to give your plants some proper care and maintenance. Pruning perennials not only keeps your garden tidy but will also encourage new growth when spring rolls around. This is also the time to dig up old annuals, as these will not bloom again next year, and do some weeding.
Top tip: you should also consider some protection for the impending winter weather. Some plants will benefit from a horticultural fleece, whereas others will thrive if moved to a sheltered location.
Another way to protect your flower beds for the autumn and winter is to mulch them as part of your autumn gardening routine. Mulch is a thick, loose layer of organic material that can help to enrich the soil and insulate roots from colder weather.
Prepare your soil
Healthy soil is the making of a thriving garden. Enriching your soil with organic compost or well-rotted manure helps to provide the essential nutrients your plants need to endure the winter months and flourish in spring.
Top tip: once you’ve added some compost, you can use a rotavator to get those nutrients thoroughly mixed into the soil.
Consider autumnal planing
Autumn and winter is typically the time of year when your garden starts to lose colour, especially if you are fond of spring florals or summer grasses. But, it does not have to stay this way. When you are preparing your autumn lawn care routine, spend some time introducing new annuals or evergreens to bring some structure and life into your garden over the colder months.
Sturdy plants like Winter Heather will bloom into late autumn right through to spring, so these are a great option to refresh your garden for the new season. You may also want to consider using planters or potted plants, which may be easier to maintain as the ground gets colder.
Autumn gardening does not stop with flowers. There are a range of fruits and vegetables that are suitable for UK autumns, including:
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Leafy greens, such as kale, lettuce, and spinach.
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Root vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, beetroot, and radishes.
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Bare root fruit trees, such as apples and pears.
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Fruiting shrubs, such as blackcurrants and gooseberries.
Clean your tools
Chances are, you have gotten a lot of use out of your garden and groundcare tools over the spring and summer. Whilst you will have given each a cursory clean, autumn is the perfect time for more in-depth cleaning and maintenance.
As part of your autumn gardening checklist, you should:
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Check your tools for signs of damage, wear, and tear.
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Repair what you can, and replace anything else.
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Send larger machinery in for a service to ensure everything is safe and running smoothly.
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Empty fuel and oil tanks until needed in the spring.
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Clean all of your tools thoroughly.
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Sharpen any tools with blades and oil as needed.
Proper tool maintenance helps your tools to last longer, and doing it in the autumn ensures you are ready to go when spring comes around.
Look ahead to spring
As always, whenever autumn comes around, it won’t be long before we’re seeing the first signs of spring. So, make sure you get your preparations in early. Spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips should be planted before the first frost to ensure they have the time to establish roots over the winter months.
Now is also a good time to give those patios and pathways a thorough cleaning. Pressure washers are perfect for cleaning large areas quickly, and are incredibly easy to use. At Hughie Willett Machinery, our selection of pressure washers and accessories will take the hassle out of this task, leaving you with a surface to be proud of, and somewhere to relax through the autumn.
Autumn lawn care and gardening made easy with Hughie Willett Machinery
No matter what preparations you put in place for your autumn lawns, at Hughie Willett Machinery we have the solution for you.
Our wide range of groundcare tools and equipment will make this seasonal transition as smooth and successful as possible. Discover our collection online, or pop into our store to explore the full range. Trust us, your garden will thank you for it.
Still have questions? Feel free to contact our team throughout your buying journey to make sure you have the knowledge and advice you need to purchase the best tools for the job. Simply get in touch online or call 0121 308 1262 for assistance.
Explore our garden & groundcare equipment collection today
For more information, advice, and detailed equipment buying guides, check out the Hughie Willett Machinery blog…
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