The nights are drawing in, TV programming is kicking back into gear and there are ominous warnings about “party season”. However, that doesn’t mean we should ascribe to horticultural tradition and “put our gardens to bed”.
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There’s still plenty you can do in the garden to make the most of those crisp, bright autumnal afternoons and relish the offerings of the season to come. Whether squeezing some more joy out of the garden before it dies back for another winter or doing jobs your future spring self will thank you for, these are the things that define the season.
I’m a self-taught gardener and an autumn superfan, so some of these tasks are my favourites of the year. I also asked wise friends from across the gardening landscape to share what they’ll be doing, buying and thinking about – and, crucially, what they won’t be – as autumn dawns.
Getting your garden autumn ready Photograph: SolStock/Getty ImagesSow hardy annuals
There are few things more pleasing in the grim depths of late winter than a clutch of sturdy seedlings promising flowers to come in the spring and summer. Sowing hardy annuals such as nigella, poppies, nasturtiums, sweet peas, cornflowers and Ammi majus will give you a crop of summer flowers to cut after putting on good growth in the spring – and a second chance to sow again in the spring if they fail.
Herb hacks
“A lot of nurseries will be discounting their more tender-leaved perennials at the moment, as they’re not hardy enough to last the winter,” says herbologist and writer Maya Jayaweera Thomas. “The joy of that is you can make the most of them, prune them back to get that last flourish of foliage and use them in your food.”
She adds that sage is a great place to start. “Give it a haircut at the end of summer and dry bunches for the house – it’s great for making simple syrups to ease coughs and colds.”
Catch water
If you’re letting rainwater go to waste, now’s the time to fix that, says landscape designer Tom Massey. “After the hot, dry spring and summer we’ve had this year, disconnect your downpipes and invest in water butts or rainwater harvesting tanks to capture and store precious rain as the wet season arrives.” (Just make sure you’ve got an overflow system in place should your water butt fill up.) Some councils will even give them away for free, or look on Facebook Marketplace and similar sites for secondhand options.
Strata water butt kit
£35 at Argos£43 at Water Butts DirectPlot next year’s design
“Now is a great time to sit back and have a look at what you’ve got, think about what you might want to change or add for next year and maybe make a few notes,” says Susanna Grant of planting design consultancy Linda. Look back at photos to help you remember the highs and lows of your spring and summer space – it’s a good time to make changes before growth begins again in the spring.
Jazz up your space
The evenings might be shorter, but autumn’s sunsets are stunning – and well worth enjoying outside if you can cosy up right. It can be a good time to think about garden lighting – I particularly like Pooky’s exterior range – before the cooler seasons, when you may see more of your garden in the dark than in the light. Braziers offer warmth and something to gather around (and have some good discounts on at the moment). It’s also a fine time to snag a bargain on outdoor cushions; these stripy ones come in autumnal hues.
Exterior wall light
£210 at Pooky
Corten steel fire bowl
£84.92 at Primrose£92.92 at B&Q
Pink stripe outdoor cushion
£8 at ArgosBuy bargain bulbs
There’s something to be said for being organised and buying your bulbs at the end of summer (you get the best pick, your future self will thank you), but hold your nerve until October and they will be massively reduced on bulb websites. The most popular varieties may have sold out, but stick to a tight colour palette and you won’t notice. Conversely, keep an eye on the floristry section of the supermarkets from now on, as bargain bulbs will start appearing there in boxes. I plant all of mine in December.
Support wildlife in style
In our era of biodiversity crisis, doing all we can to support wildlife in the garden is important – and fosters good garden ecology, too. Floral artist and broadcaster Hazel Gardiner is a fan of the decorative bird feeder, and they’re increasingly available on the high street. “They can look beautiful rather than purely utilitarian, while also ensuring your outdoor space supports biodiversity through winter,” she says.
Wildlife Vierno diner seed feeder
£10.99 at CJ Wildlife£11 at National TrustThink about a tree
Autumn, along with spring, is the ideal time to plant trees. This is a good time, then, to find one. In a small garden, it’s sensible to choose one that offers interest for most of the year, between blossom in spring and colour in autumn (this is why Amelanchier lamarckii is so popular), and multi-stem varieties provide shade and interest without taking over a space.
Amelanchier lamarckii tree
From £25.79 at CrocusFrom £45 at Ornamental TreesGet your edges straight
If you’re itching to create order in the garden but not at the expense of woodier perennials as habitat for wildlife, attend to your edges, says gardening coach Andrew O’Brien. “After a season of growth and weeks of ripening and flopping, re-establishing some clear lines and routes makes a world of difference in making everything feel more manageable,” he says. “Look to your paths and edges – of lawns, beds and hedging – and you can let the bits in between collapse over winter while managing the overwhelm.”
Draper heritage stainless steel lawn edger
£25.87 at Rapid£26.95 at My Tool ShedSort your shed
If your shed has become a depository of garden furniture, toys, tools and non-gardening detritus this summer, now is a fine time to get it in order. Donate anything you haven’t used or don’t want, clean out the spiderwebs and make any repairs to make it easier to store things over the colder months. On the other hand, now is a great time to search secondhand sites for garden furniture as so many others take part in this clearout.
Speaking of tools, it’s much nicer to do autumnal garden tasks with clean, sharp ones. Setting yourself up with a sharpening stone, a YouTube tutorial and some camellia oil will make your secateurs look new. I like to have a coarse-haired brush by the shed door to dust tools down after use.
Sharpening stone
From £15 at Niwaki£16.50 at Amazon
Camellia oil
From £7.50 at Niwaki£12.90 at AmazonFill a few gaps
If you really want to plant things, it’s a fine time to do so. Gardiner suggests Japanese anemones, sedums and chrysanthemums. “These varieties keep borders popping with colour deep into autumn. They also provide nectar for pollinators when food sources are scarce – and they’re having a cut-flower resurgence.”
Take cuttings
Save on your plant budget by taking semi-ripe cuttings, especially of half-hardy perennials that won’t survive the winter, such as Pelargoniums or lavender. The semi-ripe refers to the growth habit: these cuttings are woody at the bottom – which prevents rotting – and have soft new growth at the top. Take a 15cm cutting with clean secateurs, dip into hormone powder if you like, then place in pots of good compost in a propagator or inside a plastic bag to keep them warm and moist.
Burgon & Ball bypass secateurs
£23 at B&Q£23.99 at John Lewis
Higurashi secateurs
£59 at Niwaki
For more, check out our guide to the best secateurs
Don’t cut back too soon
The long-held tradition of “putting the garden to bed” lingers on, but there’s really no need. “Resist cutting back too soon,” says Massey. “Let seed heads and ornamental grasses glint in autumn light and sparkle with winter frost, while supporting wildlife outdoors.” Gardiner agrees, with this simple advice: “Don’t over-tidy.”
Consider shrubs for your pots
Before you place that bulb order, says Grant, why not consider bare-root hedging for your containers instead? “Buying a handful of Rosa glauca, spindle, wild privet or hawthorn can add height and texture, while providing food for wildlife. They will only cost you a few pounds but give so much back.” You can also plant them for borders and front gardens. “Adding a few each year has totally transformed my side return planters,” she says. “And they can be coppiced if they get too big.”
Sow green manure
Working on your soil is a crucial – and arguably first – step in any garden. If yours is a little worse for wear, why not sow green manure instead of planting another doomed garden centre annual? Vetch, phacelia (which produces gorgeous purple flowers for bees) and forage rye – especially good for clay soils – will grow over winter, and can then be dug into the soil in the spring to nourish the soil.
Cut bunches to dry and decorate
What might look crispy in the garden can be structural inside. Sedum heads, poppy seedheads, hydrangeas, amaranth and grasses can “bring sculptural beauty indoors”, says Massey, while dried bunches of flowers provide longstanding interest throughout the cooler months.
Alice Vincent is a writer, author and gardener
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