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<\/p>\nWith autumn upon us, most gardeners are spending the last of the warm days tidying and preparing their garden for winter. This is the time that some plants and shrubs are pruned, bulbs are planted and other flowers are coaxed into slumber. With planning and the right treatment, these plants will spring back into life with the warmth of spring sunshine, becoming something for you to admire from your garden bench.<\/p>\n
The soil has worked hard from spring until summer, and you are expecting it to cosset and protect tubers, bulbs and root systems over the winter. Like us, soil needs the right nutrients for plants and shrubs to thrive.<\/p>\n
Plants and shrubs consume different nutrients and minerals from the soil, and this is why gardeners and farmer rotate their crops each year. This isn\u2019t always possible with some shrubs that would not appreciate an annual relocation!<\/p>\n
This means that as well as feeding plants throughout their growing season, you also need to pack the nutrients back in the soil. Doing this in autumn helps the soil stay fertile and rich over the winter months. Come spring, your shrubs, flowers and trees will blossom once again \u2013 and with vigour.<\/p>\n
Add well-rotted \u2018organic matter\u2019 (such as horse manure or homemade leaf mulch or compost) into the soil. Dig it in well. Some plants appreciate a layer of mulch or similar around their base. As it rains over winter, the goodness will seep into the soil beneath \u2013 your plants will thank you in spring with a glorious display of blooms and leaves.<\/p>\n
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Come autumn, the local plant nurseries and hardware stores are full of diverse bulbs. The reason is simple \u2013 now is the time to plant bulbs in pots and borders, ready for an early showing in spring.<\/p>\n
It can take some time to plant bulbs, depending on the amount that you have to plant, so this is a project best undertaken over a few days. Here are some lovely late winter and spring bulbs:<\/p>\n
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All too often, we manicure and landscape garden to within a fraction of perfection, but this can happen to the detriment of wildlife.<\/p>\n
Gardeners are now being actively encouraged to give over a portion of their garden for a meadow. As well as scattering seeds of native flowers, gardeners are also being encouraged to allow some weeds to grow. Everything from dandelions to nettles \u2013 they can all have a place in the garden.<\/p>\n
From birds to bugs and small animals such as hedgehogs, the more wildlife you have in your garden, the better. So why not leave some of your empty garden pots on their sides in a quiet corner of the garden covered in leaves and sticks, making a perfect winter hibernating hotel for hedgehogs and other wildlife?<\/p>\n
With the chill of autumn upon us, the thought of spending time sitting on a garden bench enjoying the garden might not be at the forefront of our minds. Winter will soon get its claws into the garden, which means that come spring, we have to clean off detritus and debris from our teak benches before we can enjoy the sunshine.<\/p>\n
Instead, take time while the sun still has some warmth in it to perform some basic garden maintenance jobs before autumn ends\u2013 you will be glad you did once winter has passed and spring arrives!<\/p>\n
These four tips will help your garden over winter, allowing it to burst into life in the spring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With autumn upon us, most gardeners are spending the last of the warm days tidying and preparing their garden for winter. This is the time that some plants and shrubs are pruned, bulbs are planted and other flowers are coaxed into slumber. With planning and the right treatment, these plants will spring back into life […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","ub_ctt_via":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gardening-tips"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.gardenbenches.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/hedgehog.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Anna Sharples","author_link":"https:\/\/www.gardenbenches.com\/blog\/author\/anna\/"},"yoast_head":"\n