How to prepare your garden for winter

From patio care and lawn maintenance, to deck cleaning and repairing a fence, September is the optimum month to prepare your outside areas for winter. Here are our top autumn garden tips, to help you get ready.

Borders and ponds

• Use a compost heap to recycle annual plants into a rich feed for your flowerbeds.
• Garden mulch, like Rolawn ProMulch, helps protect plants, enrich soil fertility and retain moisture.
• Shredded and lightly moistened leaves will turn into leaf mould, which adds structure and rich organic matter to your soil.
• Put a net over ponds to protect them from leaves, which can block pumps and filters.

Lawns

• Remove old grass clippings and moss using a spring tined rake, and add to the compost heap.
• Where soil is compacted, use a garden fork to make deep holes every 10cm, for improved drainage and aeration.
• Repair badly damaged areas with Rolawn turf or grass seed.
• Lawn topdressing will level uneven patches, improve drainage and stimulate new growth.
• Add a fertiliser, such as Rolawn’s GroRight, which will feed your lawn and also kill moss and weeds.

Fences

• Don’t ignore rotten fence posts or panels – it’s far more cost effective to replace a rotten fence post before the wind breaks it… and the panels too.
• Protect and prolong the life of fences by treating and resealing them in early autumn, when the timber is dry.

Decking

• Remove any items that may trap water and rot or discolour decking boards, and thoroughly wash your decking.
• Protect against rain, snow and cold temperatures by applying a quality water repellent sealant, which will also keep your decking looking fresh and new.

Patios, driveways and paths

• Remove weeds and moss from paving, and wash. A patio cleaning attachment for a pressure washer is ideal, or a mild detergent (suitable for your patio stone) used with a stiff brush, and rinsed with a hose.
• Apply weed killer.
• Deteriorated pointing will allow water ingress, which can freeze and dislodge paving. Easily repair these areas with Geo-Fix all weather paving jointing compound.
• Pressure washing block paving may remove some of the block paving sand. Refill the joints by brushing kiln dried sand over the surface. 

With autumn upon us, it’s the perfect time to visit AWBS for all your building and landscaping supplies, and get your garden set for winter.