Getting your garden ready for winter: 12 important jobs

Make sure you put a (bird-friendly) net over the pond in time to prevent leaves from falling into the water. Remove any fallen leaves that blow into your pond before they sink to the bottom and rot.

Also cut back the leaves of dead pond plants . Remove pond pumps and fountains that are no longer in use. Wash them thoroughly and store them in a frost-free place over winter.

Tip: Try not to disturb the bottom too much. Many animals hibernate there, such as frogs and various invertebrates. Moreover, this layer contains many important organisms that keep your water healthy.

Repair any damage to raised beds, garden sheds, and compost bins and protect them with a fresh coat of stain or paint if necessary. Replace rotting fence posts to prevent your fence from blowing over during winter storms. Also, make sure the roof of your garden shed isn't leaking and replace any broken glass in your greenhouse.

Tip!

Remove garden bird nesting boxes from their original location and empty them (wearing gloves!). Old nesting material, unhatched eggs, and other debris can harbor diseases, so wash the boxes with hot water before re-hanging them. Also clean bird feeders and birdbaths in the same way and refill them regularly.

When the leaves begin to fall in the garden in autumn, you can start pruning trees . Autumn pruning isn't too rigorous. You only prune stray, diseased , and damaged branches from ornamental trees like Japanese maples , and you can prune apple trees . You can also remove branches that are rubbing against each other.

Cut back annual climbers in your borders and beans in the vegetable garden, removing dead stems and leaves from their supports. Wash all the soil from bamboo canes and other temporary wooden supports and treat them with linseed oil, if necessary. Then store them indoors over the winter.

Borders contrast best with neat lawn edges, so trim them for the last time before winter. Mow your lawn as well, but don't cut it as short as you normally would, so the grass stays a bit longer in winter.

It's also important to prepare your vegetable garden for winter . It's crucial that your harvest doesn't fall prey to hungry animals, and you'll need to protect it from frost, wind, and rain.

You can also sow, plant, or transplant vegetables in the vegetable garden in autumn, such as hardy broad beans and garlic and onion seed potatoes. You can still sow lamb's lettuce directly in the ground, but protect the seeds and young plants with cloches or fleece.

Green manures ensure that the soil in your vegetable garden isn't bare in winter. This prevents nutrients from being washed away during heavy rain, and the soil maintains a good structure. Sow green manures like winter rye on the bare soil. The plants quickly form a green, protective carpet.