Autumnal "Beginners"

Hi guys!

I am still very much a beginner and while I do have very limited example of my knowledge of what to do now, it is exceedingly "limited".

So, as Autumn is pressing heavily upon us: what jobs are now the most pressing?

I am planning on planting bulbs for Spring, but still not confident on what I should be doing right now?

 

Clear out any dead or dying annuals giving the soil a bit of a fork over in the process. You may be able to start collecting any ripened seed heads now too. Most pruning should be left until plants are dormant over the winter months but there is no reason why hedges can't be trimmed now with the exception of conifers, they are best left until spring, the extra growth will give them some protection from winter winds that will burn them. Spring bulbs traditionally are planted from October, but again there's no reason why you can't start now. Any plants that you want to move should be left until dormant, but I've been known to risk moves at the wrong time of year depending on the plant.

I've just emptied my composter and spread that on my rose bed, the worms will do the work and I can now re-fill it with the plants that I'm pulling out.

There's not a lot to do in autumn really "M" it's a case of just having a tidy up. Lawns can be mowed until the first frosts providing they are dry enough but best to raise the cut slightly as growth is slowing now.

 

I cant wait till my lawn starts to slow down. I'm getting sick of mowing it now lol

 

I love autumn, a time of change but still enjoyable For me in the garden I will doing much of the following over the next 6 weeks or so in no particular order ;

• General tidying around the garden, clearing annuals, weeding etc
• Give the hedge a last 'light' trim and tidy but taking care not to remove any berries or nuts that the birds will eat
• Planting any spring bulbs that I buy.
• Generally I leave cutting back perennials until late winter/early spring as the old growth provides protection for the plants and cover for insects but if they're tall ones I will cut back by half to reduce wind rock in the winter. If you have any buddleia shrubs they can be cut half back in October and finished in the spring for the same reason.
• Collect seed and take cuttings.
• Think about protecting tender plants such as Cannas, Bananas etc by either wrapping/covering or moving in to the greenhouse before the frosts come and before they get too wet.
• Sow any perennial seed/shrub/tree seeds that don't need warm temperatures and can be popped in the cold frame.
• Roughly dig over the unused area of the veg patch and leave the winter weather and worms to break it down for the spring.
  
• Autumn is also a good time to put up new bird boxes and start feeding the birds more too
• Finally sit back and have a brew with a seed catalogue in hand

Isn't Autumn wonderful

 

@"M" ....first job ..make one of these.....



Soon be time to start collecting the fallen leaves.... i love it

 

I have got to remove some perennials that have spread too much eg.Lisimachia Punctata, dwarf Astilbe and some annuals in the same bed.
That's because I have some Wallflowers "Vulcan" to put in their place for next Spring. There's a project planting exercise to carry out too in the communal garden. An ugly old Stinking Iris is gonna be dug out and disposed of. In its place, a mixture of Persicaria Red Dragon and some Bowles Golden grass. It should make a nice contrast display for a couple of years and be a lot easier on the eye. And, some Summer bedding pots will be potted up with little daffs and tulips saved from last year/ stored in the garage with some Winter flowering pansies on top.

 

Does anyone still give their lawn an autumn feed? I did mine in spring but it didn't do much and wonder if I should do it again now.

 

Years since I have, but if you want a smart lawn then "yes", plus should scarify, aerate, top dress and over seed (albeit perhaps not every year). Should have killed weeds a few weeks ago (there is potential persistence of herbicides that can muck up germinating over-seedlings), and moss killer some time before scarifying would be good too.

 

I forgot about scarification

 

I'll put it on my birthday list (and a poster of it in front of Mr "M"'s eyes!) Or maybe ... Jenny could knit me one

 

May I just say a heartfelt bit "Thank you!" to everyone who has replied to this thread.

So many things I simply wouldn't have thought of and such great advice (as per usual!)

 

They say spring is a busy time!

With all the work needed in Autumn I think it is just as, if not busier than Spring.

 

Looks more like a crochet project to me "M",
if you can track that pattern down....
Jenny