Feeding birds and providing habitats continues through autumn and winter. Planning to reuse, re-purpose or recycle also contributes to the Environment. Why take your car to the garden centre to buy more plants in containers when you can derive pleasure from growing your own.

Clear up and Clean up

• Tidy borders, lightly hoe or fork over to deter weeds and collect up canes, pots & nets.
• Clear away old crops, leaves and plant debris adding it to your compost heap.
• Keep one natural corner area  and leave debris to rot down.  Add  a pile of twigs or logs to provide food for insects and shelter for small creatures through winter.
• Wash all pots and soiled items ready for reuse next year. Save and recycle what you can.
• Rake up tree leaves as they fall, wet them and put  in to a wire cage or plastic bag with some puncture holes and they will rot down to leaf mould in 18 months or so. (they do not rot quickly or heat up like compost but make small amounts of good friable soil).

Plant Care

• Plant your spring bulbs, Daffodills go in early to develop good roots but Tulips should wait until November.
• Save buying new plants by lifting and dividing clumps of herbaceous perennials.
• Collect your own seeds and plant those to avoid buying new next season.
• Give your surplus plants to others so they do not need to buy new.
• Conserve key plants by covering tender specimens such as tree ferns in hessian or move plants into a safe zone.
• Spread your rotted compost to protect the crowns of plants through winter and give them a good start for next year.

Tools

• Look after your tools. Clean and oil them.
• Use a whet stone to sharpen bladed tools and store them safely through winter.
• Broken handles can be replaced or new long handled tools made by putting a trowel on a broom handle.
• Think about Christmas presents for you and the garden

Other Resources

Royal Horticultural Society RHS ‘Gardening for All’
National Council for Conservation of Plants and Gardens ‘Conservation through Cultivation.’
Garden Organic National Charity for Organic Gardening.
BBC Gardening