Photographer: Abbie Melle
Autumn is one of the most relaxing and delightful times to be in the garden. The mornings are pleasantly cool while the daytime sun has lost its summer sting making it the perfect time to also be working in the garden.
We’ve asked horticulturalist Adam Woodhams and landscape expert Jason Hodges to share the best gardening projects to tick off in Autumn.
1. Relax outdoors and plan ahead
Here’s a project everyone can enjoy – relaxing and observing. Now is the ideal time of year to be chilling-out in your garden and thinking about the next project you may want to undertake.
Many of the garden projects that require a bit of hard work are best left for the cooler months meaning now is perfect for planning and working out budgets.
Looking at a new lawn? Set it out now so that in late winter you can do the spade-work to lay it as soon as the weather warms up. Want to create the ultimate outdoor dining area? Start researching furniture, such as extendable outdoor dining tables and waterproof outdoor rugs, now.
Whatever your garden ambitions, now is the time to put pencil to paper and start turning them into reality for next spring.
2. Show your lawn some love
Don’t neglect your lawn in autumn! Lavishing a little TLC on a tired lawn will reap benefits well into winter and spring.
Apply a quality slow-release lawn food. This will allow your grass to top up its energy reserves after a long, hot summer and store some energy, improving its resilience, for the winter ahead.
If your lawn is looking a little patchy after the wear-and-tear of summer then grab your garden fork and open that soil up before raking over some clean, dry river sand. This will open the soil up, aerating it, improving air, water and nutrient movement.
Finally, make sure your lawn is getting maximum exposure to sunlight by raking up fallen leaves and pruning back unruly shrubs and tree branches.
3. Mulch everything
This includes deciduous trees and the kitchen garden.
“Order a load of mulch and get busy this weekend, it dresses the garden up, suppresses weeds and retains moisture helping your soils overall condition. Healthy soil equals happy, healthy plants,” says Jason.
4. Plant fruit trees and spring-flowering bulbs
New plants going into the soil at this time of the year have the best chance for good root growth and nothing says early spring like a burst of flowering fruit blossom.
“Autumn is a brilliant time to plant citrus and bulbs. Plant them now and they will be established well for spring growth. The same goes for bulbs – plant them now and you’ll have a show-stopping garden in spring,” Jason says.
You’ll find bulbs in virtually every flower colour in the rainbow in most garden retailers or online. Some of the traditional, such as jonquils, daffodils and freesias, can be left alone post-flowering to naturalise in the garden, whereas others, such as tulips, will need lifting and storing in all but the coolest areas.
5. Plant trees and shrubs
Did you know that now is one of the best times to be planting many trees and shrubs? The air and soil are still warm enough to allow for development and establishment and soil stays moist with lower evaporation, reducing stress on new plants.
You may not notice much growth before winter but come spring autumn planted shrubs and trees will take off fantastically.
6. Start a compost heap
Autumn is a great time to be looking at establishing a compost heap.
At the simplest level a compost heap needs a combination of what’s often called ‘green and brown material’ – green, moist nitrogen-rich fresh material and brown, dry carbon-dense material – to function well.
All of those diced-up fallen leaves and lawn clippings from your lawn-mower catcher are an ideal starter for a compost heap. Come spring you should have a nice pile of rich, home-brewed material ready for adding to the veggie garden.
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