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Autumn is a transitional season, and with gardening, it can be difficult to determine what the best course of action is. There are a few things you can do, as it’s the perfect time to begin the first steps for spring preparation – despite it being a few months away – as well as getting your plants ready for a healthy hibernation in the frigid winter months. This article is going to cover both gardening and landscaping tips and tricks you can do over the autumn months.
Prepare Your Garden For Autumn
When it comes to autumn gardening tips, with the weather cooling down, leaves falling and the nights getting sharper, it’s a good time to prepare your garden for winter so it’s ready again for the spring months. Autumn is one of the easier seasons to work in, as plants are beginning to go into hibernation, but this doesn’t mean there isn’t anything for you to do.
Enough talk, time to get on with your autumn garden maintenance, so it’s ready for the upcoming seasons.
Clean Up Your Spring And Summer Growth
Chances are, with the Australian heat, you’ve been waiting for it to cool off before beginning cleaning up, and you’d be right to do so. Now that the temperature is at a bearable level, it’s time to get to pruning and clearing. Shrubs, bushes, blooming flowers and fruit trees can all be cut back now that it’s entering the cooler months.
Get To Mulching
Throughout the Australian summer, your garden has been through a lot. The sun raises soil temperatures to the point it kills and sterilises mulch you may have put in previously. You can add clays and animal manure based mulches in generous amounts to give your beds some viscosity and life. This can help any new or already established plants stay healthy.
Something to note; if you have a mulcher, don’t throw away your cuttings. Put them in the mulcher and add it to your garden, being mindful to not add grass. There are a lot of healthy nutrients within the plants that they have absorbed over the course of the last couple of months and can be reused in your garden beds.
Repot Some Bulbs
It’s a great time to repot bulbs such as tulips, daffodils, and jonquils for spring. Being placed under the soil, they can go dormant over the colder seasons to survive. You’ll know when it’s time to move them when the leaves have begun to yellow. Loosen the soil gently with a flower fork and lift it by the stem. Plant them in a pot with dry and densely packed soil, and store them somewhere away from the cold and wet weather. The best places to keep them are in the garden shed, or in the house. Once spring has finally arrived you can then go about replanting them, so they can return to their former colourful glory!
Go To Nursery Sales
If you’ve had the ability to hold out on purchasing new plants during spring and summer, nurseries typically have a large clearout sale at the beginning of autumn that you should take advantage of. Usually, in the autumn and winter months, plants are sold in bare root state, meaning they’re either sold in a bag, box, or held together with sawdust. This means you can get to planting during its dormancy period, so it’s ready to establish itself and perk up in the spring.
Make Your Autumnal Nights Cozier
Whilst it’s nice to get a reprieve from the heat, sometimes it’s nice to reminisce when the weather is bad. There is something you can do to try and get the best of your garden in the interim. Utilise your space with a few reusable additions.
Outdoor Heater
We all like a good source of warmth in the autumn, so if you have the space, go with a backyard fire pit, and if not, get a gas heater. Place them in the typical gathering points, so all those rugged up tight can get some more warmth into their bones. The best part, these can be reused all year!.
Garden Lighting
Installing landscape lighting during autumn is a great garden design project, as it looks majestic at night. Everyone will want to spend their time outside even if it is a little chilly but cuddled up with a hot drink, or a blanket, with people you love, and you’ll barely notice.
There are a few different options to shine a light on your landscapes:
- Moonlighting: Simulates the moon shining through the leaves and casts ambient shadows.
- Accent lighting: Emphasises any features in the garden like a statue, water feature or even your trees.
- Hardscape lighting: Highlights the paths to help you in the garden
Not Enough Room For Garden Beds? Go Vertical
Some spaces just don’t offer enough room for a traditional garden, so why not go with a vertical one? You might be wondering how that works, and it’s all about letting your plants grow along a vertical structure, helped by strategic zip ties and trellises.
You can plant vertically growing plants like ivy or vines, to keep up a mesh or wired shape on the wall. Another way is to utilise hanging pots, with cutouts in the walls, pins or shelves. If you need something more mobile, go with a rustic or antique step ladder so it’s easy to relocate and adds texture to the space. You can utilise vertical real estate to show off all your veggies, herbs, flowers and even smaller fruit plants. The sky is literally the limit.
Some Jobs Need A Professional Touch
Sometimes landscaping and gardening can be a difficult task and wrapping your head around the best course of action to take in the garden can be a challenge. Not to worry, why not give our team at Waddell Landscape Design a call on (03) 9108 1128. We will ensure those brisk nights and cooler temperatures are all the more enjoyable in your garden!
