If all went well, you’ve already been busy after the first part of the blog about getting your garden ready for autumn. You can read it back here! In the second part of this blog series, we will tell you the final important steps to ensure you still have such a beautiful garden to enjoy next spring. Use it to your advantage!

Step 4: Get pruning this autumn!

Before the temperatures really start to drop significantly, it is a smart idea to give the entire garden a good trim. This way, you can be sure the plants are ready to withstand the season ahead. You should properly tackle the following elements in your garden in the autumn:

• If you have a conifer hedge, you can prune it back. Make sure to do this in a tapered shape; meaning the bottom of the conifer is wider than the top. Other evergreen hedges can also be lightly pruned back after the longest day of the year.

• Prune plants immediately after their flowering period. If a plant has already finished flowering in the spring, but you wait to prune it until the autumn, no flowers will appear the following spring. So, keep a close eye on when the plant has finished flowering and remove the spent parts immediately afterwards.

• Make sure that the tools you use for pruning are nice and sharp. With blunt tools, you only make things harder for yourself, and you cause unnecessary pruning damage to the plants! It is also important that you absolutely stop using your pruning shears after October. The colder it gets, the harder it is for the plants to recover from being pruned!

Step 5: Make time for pond maintenance

The pond also needs to be prepared for autumn and winter. The plants and fish need your help, otherwise things won’t go well! First of all, at the end of summer, the leaves naturally start to fall from the trees. Remove them from the water quickly, otherwise dry leaves will quickly start to rot. As a precaution, you can of course also stretch a net over the pond; that will save you work! With a scoop net, you can easily remove the rotting plant debris from the bottom. Is it time to give the pond a major cleaning? It is best to do that in the autumn as well. This is because the fish and plants living in your pond are much less active then. A cleaning will therefore have fewer negative effects on the pond life.

Step 7: Bring the cold-sensitive ones inside

Not all plants get through the autumn and winter equally well. For plants that cannot withstand the cold, it is a good idea to bring them indoors during the autumn. Do this before the first cold snap arrives. But: the longer the plants stay outside, the better! Exactly where you should place the plant indoors depends a bit on the species. Plants that lose their leaves in the winter can be kept in a dark spot until the first rays of sunlight break through again. Plants that remain green in the winter also need enough sun indoors. So, place them in front of a window! Do you not have room for your plants at home, and do they also need little water? Perhaps storing them externally is an option?

Getting the garden ready for autumn has become a breeze after reading this article! You now know exactly what you need to do to ensure that you can enjoy your garden again next summer. And remember: For peace and space in your mind, home, and garden, you can easily store your belongings in an external storage unit at ALLSAFE!

In our blog about an ideal spring garden, you can read tips on how to get your garden ready for the nice weather instead.