5 essential jobs to get your garden ready for winter

Autumn has arrived and there's plenty to do in the garden so you're all set for winter.

The experts are Which? Gardening magazine explain what jobs to do make sure you're ready for the season ahead.

Breathe new life into your outside spaces. 

1. Collect leaves

Deciduous trees and shrubs will shed their leaves, hopefully after we get some beautiful autumn colour. Sunny days and cold nights are the magic combination needed for the brightest shades.

It's only worth bothering to sweep up leaves from hard surfaces, which can become slippery, and from the lawn, where they can cause problems for the grass. A leaf blower is useful for blowing leaves into piles, ready to be picked up, otherwise a rake or broom work well. Long-handled leaf grabbers help reduce the amount of bending needed to collect them. On the lawn, running over the leaves with the mower is a quick way to do the job.

You can make leaf mould by putting the leaves in bin bags and leaving to rot down for 18 months. It can then be used as soil improver. Alternatively, you can put the leaves in your green-waste bin if you have one.

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2. Care for garden furniture

Bring in cushions and give the covers a wash, before drying and storing indoors. 

Clean your garden furniture with soapy water. Then softwood furniture can be painted or treated with stain; hardwood can stained or left to weather naturally.

Bring your parasol indoors to store over winter. Dry it completely before you store it or it could get mouldy.

Any furniture that isn't being stored indoors is best covered if possible. Hardwood furniture is fine without.

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3. Clean patios and hard surfaces

Once you've put away your garden furniture and swept up any leaves, it's time to give patios and hard surfaces a scrub to remove any muck and algae which can become very slippery during wet weather. 

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When cleaning with a pressure washer, work from one edge or corner of the patio, blasting the dirt away from you in a sweeping motion. Rinse off at a lower pressure at the end.

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4. Plant spring bulbs

Once the patio is clean, you can create a colourful display by planting pots with spring bulbs. Use a Best Buy compost for patio pots and plant the bulbs at about three times their depth. You can layer bulbs on top of each other to get more in the pot, just put some compost between each later.

For colour during the winter, pop in some hardy plants, such as ivy, violas and heather. Cyclamen look lovely too but often only last for a few months.

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5. Store your tools

Clean off any muck from your tools, such as grass clippings, mud or plant sap. A stiff brush does a good job and wire wool is useful for shifting dried-on plant sap. 

Petrol tools should have their fuel drained before they're stored and cordless tools should have their batteries removed. Keep these indoors over winter and top them up regularly so they don't run out of charge as this can damage the battery.

Drain pressure washers of water and store them in a frost-free place. If any water inside turns to ice, it expands and can split the tubes, breaking the machine.

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source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/5-essential-jobs-to-get-your-garden-ready-for-winter-ao75f5I2AUnu