If you want to be busy outdoors on a lovely autumn day, getting your garden ready for the end of the year is an excellent plan. Your garden tools will last longer if you look after them well. If everything is sorted out, you can get to work immediately in the spring without any overdue maintenance. Think of cleaning garden furniture and wrapping it in tarpaulin, washing covers and storing the cushions away from damp. Put some oil on any teak. Mow the grass one more time. And don’t forget to plant your bulbs.
A nice green rinse for everything
Wicker baskets, zinc containers and pots made of terracotta or plastic will all be improved by a good brushing, after which they can go into storage. If they’re spending the winter outdoors, store them upside down. If you leave water standing in earthenware, the pot can be damaged when it freezes. Zinc expands if water freezes in it, leaving you with a bulging bottom, so they should also be stored upside down. Painted and glazed earthenware is best stored in the shed.
Make sure your tools last for years
Check whether secateurs, shears and the blades on the lawnmower need sharpening. The sharper the equipment, the less damage the plants will suffer. Clean garden tools as well and leave them to dry thoroughly. Wooden handles will last better if you rub oil into them, sand off any spots of rust, grease metal parts. Finally empty the garden hose and leave all nozzles to soak overnight in diluted vinegar. Leave to dry thoroughly, and then they can go into storage as well. That will leave more space for your container and pot plants, and you’ll be able to access them more easily to give them some water.
What not to do: too much tidying!
Don’t rake everything away. If fallen leaves are left to decay it means good nutrients for the soil. Don’t prune perennials as it simply makes the view unnecessarily empty and bare. If you leave them alone, birds and small garden animals such as hedgehogs will have somewhere to hunt around in. Both evergreen and exhausted plants also look fabulous with a coating of frost or spider webs full of dewdrops.
