Keeping your garden healthy and beautiful all year round means responding to the seasons. Summer, autumn, winter, spring – they all bring their own gardening challenges and joys, and it’s important to adapt your routine throughout the year to give your green spaces the best chance to grow and thrive. In this article, we’ll take you through top gardening tips for each season, so you can stay on top of your tasks.
Gardening Tips for Summer
Summer is the time when we are spending most time in our gardens, and so here’s what should be on your checklist.
- Location: Ensure that heat-sensitive plants are not in direct sunlight, and are instead kept in partial shade. On the flipside, make sure that heat-loving species are placed in a prime position where they can soak up the rays.
- Timing: Be aware that the height of summer isn’t always the most desirable condition to plant certain species, and therefore some types may need to be planted in early summer, or even spring, instead.
- Water well: The hot sun can dry out soil, so make sure the ground is thoroughly watered prior to planting and then also throughout the summer season in general. You may even wish to install a water moat to channel the water more directly to the roots.
- Watch out for weeds: Warm weather encourages plant growth – unfortunately, this means weeds too. Make sure you keep on top of weeds during summer so they are kept in check.
Gardening Tips for Autumn
The weather is cooling off, but it’s still not harsh enough to put a stop to the gardening chores. Here are some things to consider during this season.
- Repair and maintain wooden structures: Autumn is a good time to do up any dilapidated wooden structures in your garden, such as fences, sheds or playhouses. As the bitter winter chill approaches, already existing issues with wooden structures can worsen in the colder, wetter conditions. This is why they should be rectified in early autumn, prior to late autumn and winter. Here at Harrow Fencing, we supply fencing, sheds and summerhouses for small repairs or full replacements.
- Restore the soil: Autumn is time to get the soil ready for a new season of planting, so tidy up your soil from debris, being sure to aerate and renourish it in preparation.
- Turn your attention to cold-season plants: Not all foliage blooms in spring or summer, and there are plenty of options to explore for cold-weather plants that can bring life and colour into your garden – including trees, shrubs, and hardier perennials. Make sure you plant these before the soil gets too cold, hard or water-logged, perhaps at the beginning of autumn.
- Start a compost heap: There is never a better time to start a compost heap than autumn, when leaves are falling and there is plenty of excess foliage. Not only will it encourage you to keep the garden tidy, you will be able to put all this material to good use.