August 31st, 2018 by Chris Chapman

Autumn is a pretty time of year, but it can be a stressful time for gardeners! The changing weather can have some dramatic consequences on your garden as the natural world prepares for winter. However, it doesn’t have to be stressful. You can easily make the most out of autumn to liven up your garden and prepare for the cold winter months. How? Just read our five simple tips for some ideas!

Save Your Compost

Don't throw out the soil from your summer hanging baskets - you can re-use it! Veggies, hanging baskets, and some potted plants won’t hang around into the autumn. However, when you’re clearing them away, don’t throw away the compost! It’ll still be full of nutrients, so you can use it as mulch over your flowerbeds, as a bedding for some new cold-weather plants, or you can simply save it for the spring.

Pep Up Your Lawn with Iron Sulphate

Iron sulphate kills moss, deters pests and gives you greener grass! Autumn always brings more rain. Instead of complaining about it, make the most of it! Rainy seasons are the best time to feed your lawn with a dose of iron sulphate as spreading it on your lawn just before it rains ensures it gets properly watered down into the soil. Iron sulphate will help keep your grass soft, lush, and green even as the weather gets colder, so if you’re worried about your lawn becoming a muddy mess over the cold seasons, this is a great idea!

Buy Spring-Flowering Bulbs

Tulips look wonderful in the spring, but you should plant them in the autumn time Autumn is all about preparation; you can prepare your garden for winter, but you can also prepare it for spring as well! Many spring-flowering bulbs, such as tulips and daffodils, should be planted outdoors in autumn. There’s nothing quite like seeing a patch of snowdrops poking out of the soil after a harsh winter, so if you want your garden to look colourful immediately after winter, plant some bulbs in autumn. Most bulbs require almost no care over autumn and winter, so sit back, relax, and wait for them to bloom!

Make the Most of Falling Leaves

Pick up fallen leaves and use them to make some leaf mould for your soil Falling leaves are often seen as an annoyance to gardeners in autumn, but it doesn’t have to be that way! While rotting leaves will be a slip hazard on paths and can encourage moss and weeds to grow if you leave them on your lawn, you can easily sweep them up and put them to good use. Pop these fallen leaves into a bin bag and, once it’s full, tie it up and pierce it a few times. Leave those leaves alone for a year to two years, and when you open that bin bag, you’ll have a bag full of leaf mould! Leaf mould is an incredible compost and soil conditioner that you can use for potting plants, improving soil, as a quality mulch, and more, and all it costs is a little bit of patience!

Recycle Gift Boxes

Don't bin those Christmas deliveries - put them to good use in your garden! As autumn slowly rolls into winter, your thoughts will inevitably turn towards Christmas. It does seem to get earlier every year, after all! If you’re the organised sort who likes to get all your Christmas shopping done early, don’t throw away any empty boxes! You can use them to protect empty veg plots or flowerbeds. Simply open out the packaging and lay it over the soil. This will reduce the chances of any weeds erupting over the winter.