In his weekly Jamie’s Little Allotment column, Gayton gardener Jamie Marsh says don’t rush out and clear away stems and borders…
I was having a wander round the back garden the other day, raking up the fallen leaves and noticing how things are slowly starting to fade.
The bright flowers of summer have mostly gone and seed heads are taking their place. There’s still a bit of colour here and there, but you can tell the season is changing.
Don’t be tempted to scoop up all those dead leaves – just yet
Some plants are hanging on, but most are starting to settle down for the colder months ahead. The air feels different too – damp, earthy and full of that autumnal smell.
It’s tempting to start cutting everything back, clearing away the old stems and tidying the borders, but I always say it’s better to hold off. Dried seed heads and hollow stems are perfect shelter for insects and the birds love picking through them. Even a pile of fallen leaves gives a home to all sorts of small creatures that need cover for winter.
What looks messy to us is often exactly what nature needs. You don’t have to leave all the seed heads to the birds though – why not save a few for yourself? Once they’ve dried out, it’s easy to collect the seeds and store them ready for next year. It’s a simple job that doesn’t take long, and there’s something nice about growing plants that came from your own garden.
Leave the tidying up – says Jamie
You can even share a few with friends or swap them for something new. A handful of saved seeds might not look like much now, but come spring they’ll be the start of another year’s colour.
I used to be one for clearing everything away, wanting neat borders and clean soil before winter, but that’s changed over the years. Now I like to leave more standing, especially the grasses and perennials that still look good when the frost catches them. They give the garden shape and texture when everything else has died back, and they’re doing their bit for the wildlife too.
When the sun’s low in the sky, the light hits those stems in a way that makes the whole garden glow. It’s proof you don’t need flowers to have something worth looking at. It’s not just about leaving things, though. Autumn still has plenty of jobs that are worth doing.
I’ve been sweeping up the leaves from the paths and using them as a mulch on the flower beds. They’ll slowly break down over winter, improving the soil and helping to keep moisture in. If you’ve got loads of leaves, bag them up with a few air holes and tuck them away somewhere out of sight – in a year or so, you’ll have lovely crumbly leaf mould to use.
Seed heads and hollow stems are perfect for wildlife
If you’ve got a lawn, a light rake over it to gather the leaves is worth doing every now and then. A thick layer can smother the grass if left too long, but don’t waste them – every leaf is a bit of free compost in the making. It’s also worth clearing leaves from ponds or paths before they turn slippery, another one of those little autumn jobs that makes life easier later on.
The garden might be slowing down, but there’s still plenty happening if you take the time to look. There are still a few flowers hanging on, the odd bee buzzing around, and some plants putting on one last bit of growth before winter really sets in. It’s easy to think gardening stops when summer ends, but I think autumn has its own kind of calm. The rush of watering and weeding is over, and now it’s more about steady jobs and enjoying what’s still going.
There’s still time to lift and divide perennials that have outgrown their space. It’s a quick and easy way to fill any gaps and give the plants a new lease of life. I always find it satisfying moving plants around, knowing that something which was getting a bit cramped will now has space to thrive. It’s one of those jobs that quietly sets you up for next year.
And as for the rest, I’ll leave it a while longer before tidying up properly. Those seed heads and stems will do their bit through the winter, feeding the birds and giving the insects somewhere to hide. Come spring, when the new shoots start pushing through, I’ll clear what’s left and the cycle begins again.
You can email any questions or just tell me what you are getting up to in the garden at: Jamieslittleallotment@gmail.com
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