How to Maintain a Lawn

Whilst it’s true that establishing a healthy lawn can be difficult, especially as it’s very dependent on the weather; you at least have control over 90% of the process by seeding, weeding and watering your lush lawn.

Healthy-Green-Lawn

Keeping your lawn in top condition doesn’t have to be the monotonous task many of the more, shall we say, ‘casual’ gardeners may think it is. While keeping a healthy lawn indeed requires a little bit of planning and time investment, it’s not something that will take over your life (depending on how much you enjoy it) as long as you plan accordingly. If there’s one thing Bury Hill knows, it’s how to look after and keep a healthy lawn.

Here are our top tips on how to maintain a lawn, keeping your garden’s lawn trim, green and in tip-top condition all year round.

Watering Your Lawn

The trick here is to water your lawn nice and ‘deep’. Sounds strange to some, but hold on a second; there’s method in the madness. Thorough and full watering ensures deeper grass roots, and an easy way of determining the depth of your roots would be using a soil probe, or by simply digging the soil to check the depth. Nice deep roots will ensure that your grass is settled into the soil, safeguarding your lawn’s resistance against droughts. Don’t be tempted to overwater though.

To test out whether you’re ready to go, step on your lawn. Your footprint should leave a mark for a couple of seconds. Also look at the colour – it should be a tad dull (sometimes a tint of grey / blue). Aim for an inch of water every week at the very least, but don’t go too far the other way either.

It’s both important for the environment (the UK will probably have ANOTHER hosepipe ban this summer, despite record rainfall and flooding last winter) and your garden’s lawn not to overwater your lawn, as too much water can contribute to the development of fungus and disease.

The most accurate way to determine when your lawn needs water is to simply look at it. The ‘footprint test’ is a good way of determining whether or not it’s time to turn the sprinklers on as footprints will remain on your lawn for longer and won’t bounce back. Remember: bouncy lawn is a healthy lawn.

Mow Your Lawn Regularly, But Not Too Much…

Just like with watering, you need to ensure you mow your lawn regularly. Try and find a sweet spot and don’t go too short. Mowing your grass too much will expose your surface roots, which will dry out the soil and prevent the roots from gaining all the nutrients it needs from watering.

Try not to cut more than a third of the grass per mowing session, and always aim and keep its length between 2.5 to 3.5 inches in height. When the growing season has reached its end, keep it a little shorter and aim for around 2 inches. This will prevent potential moulding problems during the cooler winter months.

Good Quality Soils

In what may be the most obvious statement to come out of this gardening blog, we’re enforcing the notion that good quality planting soil will support healthy grass, whereas cheaper soil may be harmful to the whole process.

It’s important to check what’s in your soil if you’ve bought it from a local landscaping company, as many soils are sold with a risky PH level that could destroy the grass or even prevent it from seeding in the first place.

A healthy soil will support healthy grass. It’s really that simple. Check out our tips on how to find great quality topsoil for more info. Good quality soils provide air, water and nutrients to plants, which plays a critical role in root growth and development.

Your soil must be able to retain water long enough for the grass’ roots to obtain the nutrients it needs to stay healthy, whilst allowing water to drain so that the roots maintain access to oxygen – sustaining all life on earth! It’s simple science really, but it’s knowledge that’s essential for a nice healthy lawn.

Aerate Your Lawn

An issue that most first-time gardeners have with their lawns is that they are often impractically located in ‘heavy traffic areas’. It’s easy to relax by reading a book during the summer months, but kids love to roll around and play on your freshly-mowed lawn, and just having a few people over for a garden party will really put your lawn through the paces.

All this ‘heavy traffic’ can result in compacted soil, which will require a little bit of air to catch its breath, literally. Luckily, this is a problem that’s easily solved. Find something pointy, preferably an official gardening tool (anything will generally do just fine), and punch holes into your lawn – with each hole around three inches in depth. This method will encourage air circulation as well as allow your lawn to maximise nutrients from watering. There’s no need to go crazy here, a few holes every 50cms or so will do.

Fertilise Your Lawn (Organically, Of Course)

Even the perfect lawn needs a little helping hand every once in a while. Make sure you give it some TLC by fertilizing it with organic produce from decomposed vegetables, or (even better) your own organic compost. We’re very purposely using the word ‘organic’ here, as studies have shown that they’re more effective than synthetic counterparts.

By their nature, organic fertilizers increase physical and biological nutrient storage mechanisms in soils, mitigating risks of over-fertilization. Nutrient release rates are generally much lower in organic fertilizers than mineral (inorganic) fertilisers.

Final Thoughts

Perhaps somewhat annoyingly for the more casual gardener, keeping your lawn in tip-top condition requires a weekly investment at the very least. You can’t leave it to grow for months and expect to do a quick overhaul to turn around its fortunes. No, your efforts will need to remain consistent to the highest quality.

However, as with anything, a little planning can take you a long way. Just a minimal amount of effort every single week will keep your lawn looking as green and luscious as Old Trafford, just without the divots.

Bury Hill Landscape Supplies stocks a range of rolled turfs, grass seeds and premium grade topsoils for both budding home gardeners and contract trade supplies. For more information on landscape and gardening supplies contact Bury Hill on 01306 877540.

How to Make Your Own Organic Compost

Many budding gardeners think of making organic compost as complex and difficult, a process that’s set apart for those with years of experience. Not so! If you use the right ingredients and get just a small shove in the right direction, all that’s left is letting nature do its job.

The Ingredients of organic compost

A compost heap looks like a big black/brown mess – it’s difficult to figure out what was once there. However, once you get the hang of it, you’ll instantly know what’s suitable and what isn’t. This is a rough guideline for what you should be looking for:

Anything that was once a living a thing will compost. However, that doesn’t mean you should use them all. For example, anything that will attract vermin should be avoided. This includes dairy products and meats.

Mixtures always work best. Don’t overload your compost with one type of ingredient over another. Get an equal percentage of greens and browns in there and you should be golden. Over time, experience will teach you the exact combination that will work for you.

Use ingredients that rot very quickly, as these can get your compost up and running before you know it. Make sure you combine them with other items, however; otherwise your compost will not get the results you need (i.e. you’ll get a smelly mess!). Look for things like weeds and grass.

Older plants that are a bit tougher will give your compost the body and framework it needs. They will rot more slowly and combine well with the activators mentioned above.

Finally, you need the right amount of water. Without it, your compost heap will not develop appropriately.

Where to Keep the Compost Pile?

We usually recommend building or buying your own bin. While it’s possible to simply have a pile that’s covered y cardboard or polythene, it doesn’t look very neat!

When buying or building your own, look for the following:

Easy to access
No gaps
Cover or lid should be included

Place your win in a sunny location, right on top of the soil. Remember to keep it away from water lines!

When To Do It

We recommend making your compost heap during the spring, as the organic materials will rot down much more quickly. It’s possible to do it any time of year, however, so don’t let a given season get in your way!

Why Compost In the First Place?

If you’re not yet convinced by the advantages of composting, then they probably haven’t been presented to you properly. Once you fully grasp the benefits, you’ll never go back:

Improves soil quality, retaining moisture and keeps disease at bay
You won’t need horrible chemicals to help your soil, instead you’ll rely on the power of nature
Lowers your carbon footprint by minimising methane emissions

Need More Help?

There are plenty of resources that can help you build your own compost heap, but if you’ve never done it before it’s worth getting advice from the professionals or someone who has done it before.

It’s best to be guided, but not having your hand held the entire way. This ensures you learn to do it by yourself, but get the tips you need at the right junctures.

Bury Hill Landscape Suppliers News: 10000 Orders!

It’s a very proud day for all of us here at Bury Hill Landscape Suppliers Ltd. as we’re pleased to announce our 10,000th order has just been processed!

As a family-run local business providing landscape supplies including our own premium blend of organic composts, topsoils, soil conditioners and lawn turfs; we take pride in the fact that our customers keep on coming back to us as well as recommending us to others.

We’ve been very privileged to work on some really fantastic projects in the past couple of years and with our 10,000th order, and 15,000 individual deliveries, there really is no stopping us now.

A Big Thank You!

We would like to thank all who have used us as your landscape supplier and we look forward to your next order. We’re a friendly team that love a challenge, and really enjoy working alongside all our clients.

We’ve enjoyed every second of it, and look forward to our next big milestone of 20,000 orders! Keep them coming guys!

Please do contact us and visit our online shop for all your topsoil and landscape gardening supplies, no matter how big or small the order – we’re the right business for the job.

4 Considerations for Garden Decking

In the last 10 years decking has increased in popularity dramatically. There are many positive advantage to installing outdoor wooden surfaces such as raised viewing, installation ease, increased property value, and the warmth of wood to mention a few. Having this pleasant space enables us to utilise more of our dwelling and pushes the boundaries of social areas into the great outdoors.

What to think about when installing garden decking

Depending on how big you want to go, the project can be short and easy or long and hard. Before you start there are a few points that you want to consider to ensure your garden decking will be the headache free, functional space you deserve.

Location

Think where you want the decking to be? It may seem like an easy question but it could be best in a completely different section of the garden to where you first thought. Will it be next to the house? Perhaps down the garden or off to one side? Ideally you want your decking to capture the most sun as possible, this will help with reducing slip hazards when left damp and create a useable space in the most desirable part of your garden.

If you are thinking of a really big project and having your decking on the first floor there will be more structural and safety concerns to consider and it might be worth considering a professional company for installation.

Sketches

You may not be the most artistic person but you don’t need to be to create a rough representation of how it could look. If you can draw perspective then try a few sketches to see how it will look from your eyes, this will help you to realise the project and make it easier when you start to build it. If drawing isn’t your thing then go for an aerial plan and cut shapes out of paper to create the objects that need to fit into your space. Measure the spaces you have for your garden and decking and recreate them accurately. Include also the planting, garden furniture and plant pots to give you the best representation of how it can look. This view is essential ,however artistic you are, as it will help you understand how big the decking will be within the space that you have.

Materials

The obvious choice is to go for wood but these days there are different materials that will do the job just as well or even better. Wood is probably the cheapest and if farmed correctly then quite environmentally friendly too but composite solutions can take away some of the problems that wood comes with like splintering. It is also arguably more ecological as it is comprised of a mixture of recycled wood and plastic.

Ultimately the choice of materials is down to the individual and what is most important. The best thing to do is to get down to some shops and have a feel of what materials are on offer.

Drainage

Depending on what sort of decking you go for you will most likely want some sort of drainage system. It is undesirable to have the water collect on the surface of the decking so if this is likely to happen you want somewhere for the water to disappear to. Logically the ideal solution will be to utilise the space underneath but if your deck has been laid directly onto the ground then you will need a more visible system above ground. Picking the right deck on the right foundations in the first place could avoid these problems. If you opt for planks raised a few inches from the ground then the water will naturally drain between them. It is only if you have a solid deck that you are likely to encounter problem.

A few points there to help you consider how you might go about designing and installing your decking system. With any luck you will have you new space up and running soon in time to enjoy the sun.

This article was quest written by Adam Christopher of Adam Christopher Design.

Adam Christopher creates garden features, plant pots, sculpture, coffee tables and more hand made in UK focusing on providing a different take on the usual.

10 Ways to Save Money Gardening

Gardening is a fantastic hobby; it’s relaxing, it adds aesthetic value to your home, and you can even plant your own produce to enjoy. However, it can also be a very expensive past time. If you want to do it properly, you’re going to want to use the proper materials right from the start.

Slash your gardening costs

The problem is that many of us can’t afford to invest a whole whack of cash into our gardens, no matter how much we would want to. Don’t let that put you off, however. There are plenty of ways you can slash your costs without having to delve into the value range.

Tip 1: Plan Your Garden Out

Before you even plant or buy any gardening materials, sketch a plan of your garden out to exact measurements. You need to make sure you know how much space you have available before you buy your topsoils, planting beds and other essential gardening materials.

Tip 2: Speak to an Experienced Gardening Expert

Some will see this as an expensive unnecessary add-on, but it can save your gardening project a lot of money in the long run. It’s worth investing in an hour’s worth of consultation time with a gardening expert or someone with a good level experience and understanding of gardening. Speaking to someone prior to jumping straight in will allow the development of ideas within what’s realistic for your garden.

Tip 3: Don’t Buy Everything In One Go

Let’s face it, we’ve all been guilty of diving straight into a project with little to no planning due to overexcitement and easternness to make a start. One of the biggest miscalculations a lot of first time gardeners often make is the mistake of buying absolutely everything in their first buying session.

It is actually wiser to buy gardening equipment and materials in stages, topping up and adding to your existing collection one section at a time. This method has the added benefit of learning from experience, and limiting potentially large, and sometimes inevitable, mistakes to smaller quantities and orders.

Tip 4: Don’t Buy Cheap

It’s always tempting to try and cut corners by going for cheaper landscaping materials such as topsoils, organic composts, mulches and planting loams. This method of saving costs can actually be an expensive mistake – and unfortunately you will often find that the subpar quality will only require replacement purchases in the very near future.

Bury Hill Landscape Supplies Ltd. is all about high quality landscape materials, topsoils, turfs, seasoned hardwood logs and fire coal. Renowned for our trademarked ‘Bury Hill Black‘, one of the finest topsoils available anywhere in the country.

Tip 5: Buy Value!

The difference between buying cheap materials and buying good value materials is a matter of quality. The more experience you get as a gardener, the easier it will become to discern the difference. It’s like buying Tesco Value at the super market – with certain brands you barely notice the difference, while others are just not edible!

Obviously the key here is to establish which landscape and gardening suppliers work for you and your budgets. All of our soils are premium grade topsoils, so whilst more expensive than some cheaper economy style topsoils – all our premium grade topsoils and loams are blended using high quality natural soils, selected sands and grits and organic compost from known sources, using local materials where possible.

Tip 6: Research Your Landscape Supplier

It pays to be thorough in setting up your new garden. Once you’ve made the decision on what landscape and gardening supplier you’d like to go for, really read up on what they’re about. You’ll find that most local suppliers know what they’re talking about and can really give you some great advice for saving money on setting up your garden, especially if you’re a first-timer.

Tip 7: Spread the Costs

If your neighbours are into their gardening as well, why not share the cost on certain items? For example, hiring tools such as chippers and tillers can be expensive.

Get together and split your gardening costs – really saving money on the larger things like garden equipment hire means that you can spend more on other aspects of your garden, like buying top quality topsoil!

Tip 8: It’s All About Timing

Like with seasonal fruits and veggies, prices of gardening materials vary drastically depending on the season. Lumber, for example, is significantly cheaper during the winter.

You’ll learn this with experience and time, but certainly hitting the shops in autumn and winter for landscape gardening supplies can be very effective for saving money.

Tip 9: Estimate Costs

Some people think of a gardening project and head to the nearest garden centre in gung-ho style. The ‘saving money’ philospohy they had in mind suddenly spirals out of control when they realize just how many additional things need to be purchased to make the whole thing happen. Avoid this by planning thorough estimates of costs before you start buying.

Tip 10: Buy Used

The second-hand market is a fantastic place to find bargains. Gardening tools often last several generations without a hitch, so it can be quite easy to find quality products at rock-bottom prices.

So there you have it, our top 10 tips on how to save money whilst gardening! Please do share on Facebook, Twitter and Google + if you enjoyed this article, and remember Bury Hill Landscape Supplies Ltd. in the future for all your gardening needs.

Call us on 01306 877540 or visit our online store for more gardening advice, buying our range of premium grade topsoils and for information.

New Minimum Orders for Loose Bury Hill Topsoil

Bury Hill Landscape Supplies has built its reputation producing high quality certificated premium grade planting and general-purpose topsoils and loams, which are widely regarded as being some of the best in the southeast.

However, due to increasing demand for smaller quantities of loose soil and topsoil from our retail and trade customers, Bury Hill Landscape Supplies Ltd. is pleased to announce that it is now offering a minimum order of just 5 tonnes (previously 10 tonnes) for our contract grade soil and topsoil products including our premium grade and organic Planting Loam, our specialist Contract 15 Topsoil and our blended sandy loam, Bury Hill GP10 when supplied loose and not in bulk bag quantities.

All our premium grade topsoils and loams are blended using high quality natural soils, selected sands, grits and organic compost from known sources, using local materials where possible.

True to our traditions, all our premium grade topsoils are tested using British Standard Methods and where applicable are certificated to BS3882:2007.

Delivery Methods:

The 5 – 10 tonne quantities of contract grade topsoil will be delivered throughout the UK in a 4-Wheel Tipper, with 11 – 20 tonne orders using a 8-Wheel Tipper and orders over 20 tonnes using a much larger Arctic Bulker.

Cost of Topsoil Orders:

We’ve updated these particular product pages with new pricing structures to incorporate the new prices for our contract soils, as shown below:

Contract Grade Topsoils – From £14.28 per tonne for 29 tonnes or £170 for 5 tonnes Ex VAT.

Our ‘Contract 15’ is ideal where budget dictates that a cheap bulk fill soil is used. A blend of selected recycled soils and sand screened to 15mm, this material will have an increased amount of stone material present over our 10mm graded soils. A blend of ‘Responsibly Recycled Soils’, our ‘Contract 15’ is suitable for leveling large areas, filling voids such as ponds and for building up low areas of ground prior to final landscaping works.

Click here to see our pricing structure for delivery of our Contract 15 Topsoil.

Bury Hill GP10 Topsoil – From £19.28 per tonne for 29 tonnes or £195 for 5 tonnes Ex VAT.

Used extensively by the landscape, turfing and building trades for contract applications where a first class outcome is essential, this quality general purpose sandy loam is known as ‘GP10’. A blend of selected local topsoils and sands with a small amount of organic soil conditioner added, the finished material is a consistently high quality fine sandy loam with a PH close to neutral.

Click here to see our pricing structure for delivery of our Bury Hill GP10 Topsoil.

Bury Hill Planting Loam – From £22.28 per tonne for 29 tonnes or £210 for 5 tonnes Ex VAT.

A cheaper priced, locally produced version of our Premium Grade ‘Bury Hill Black’, our ‘Planting Loam’ is a high quality blended loam which is ideal for all landscaping applications and especially suitable for planting flowers, fruit, vegetables, trees and shrubs in borders, raised beds, allotments as well as designated planting areas and containers.

Click here to see our pricing structure for delivery of our Bury Hill organic planting loam.

How to Rebuild Your Garden After Flooding

With further extreme weather and flooding expected, we thought it’s about time we wrote some of our top tips for rebuilding your garden after a particularly harsh winter of flooding.

With any luck you saw our top tips on how to prepare your garden for winter, not to worry if not – this mini-guide will give you enough information and advice to get your garden back into shape post-flooding in time for spring.

After having spent money and labour, garden flooding can often be a devastating experience – the UK in particular has been victim to some extreme weather in recent weeks, causing immeasurable damage throughout the country.

With climate patterns changing, it is the unfortunate reality that many of us will be faced with the distinct possibility of further floods. That’s why it’s so important to not only be prepared for such an event, but also have an action plan in place for when the floods have passed.

Before You Begin The Rebuilding Process

If the water levels start to subside, don’t take this as a sign that the worst is over. Water levels following floods can fluctuate immensely – to check the likelihood of further problems call your local authority for further information. Once the situation has been deemed safe (and only then) it should be fine for you to commence work on your garden.

According to the Met Office and the BBC, the UK is in for yet more severe weather conditions in the coming weeks. Fourteen severe flood warnings are in place in Berkshire and Surrey, while two remain in Somerset.

Assess the Damage

The first step you want to take is to estimate and analyse the level of damage done to your garden, furniture and exterior buildings you may have. This is particularly important for insurance purposes. Do not discard any items prior to checking with your insurance company. It is possible your policy will allow you to claim for a wide variety of items, including plants.

Make sure you take photographs and document the damage immediately after it has occurred, just incase it’s severe enough to make an insurance claim.

Safety First

While it’s tempting to try and salvage your crops, avoid the temptation of consuming vegetables or fruits that may have come into contact with contaminated sewage, oil or any other harmful chemicals. The risk of infection is minute, but nevertheless not one worth taking. Take not of your crop rotation for your reference.

Before handling anything that’s come into contact with contaminated water (or if it still is!), make sure you are adequately dressed and that you are using latex gloves. If you have any cuts or open wounds, make sure they are covered at all times. It is imperative that your tetanus inoculation is current and up to date.

Help Your Soil

Once your garden’s soil has endured the worst, help speed up the recuperation process by digging a plot. This will relieve compaction. You may also want to use a fork to further assist the drainage process. In order to prevent compaction as a result of your weight, use a wooden board to increase your surface area.

Once Your Soil is Dry

Green manure is the ‘secret ingredient’ when it comes helping your soil dry more quickly. In addition, it can also improve the structure of the soil. Sow a generous amount of green manure and you should see a positive improvement. Once spring has arrived, you can dig the manure back into the soil to inject a good dosage of nutrients.

Replace your Garden’s Topsoil

The value of high quality topsoil cannot be overestimated, because without it, our plants, lawn and food crops struggle to survive. Topsoil has two distinct layers. The visible layer will be organic materials at different levels of decomposition. Just below this layer will be completely decomposed materials called ‘humus’. So, for example, when you make your own garden compost, you are actually creating a type of humus.

It’s imperative that you replace this layer of topsoil after the flooding would have inevitably removed it, as the soil is the most important purchase you will make for your landscaping or garden.

For more information on premium and contract grade topsoils contact us on 01306 877540.

Raised Beds

If you wish to continue raising vegetables, it may be an idea of using raised beds. This will protect your crop against most floods, keeping your crop above the resultant water levels. using raised beds will prevent contamination and your field becoming waterlogged.

So there you have it! Our top tips for rejuvenating your garden after a flood. For more information on landscape and gardening supplies, please contact Bury Hill Landscape Supplies Ltd. for our range of products or for more information on 01306 877540.

Five Tools Every Gardener Needs

Even the expert gardener is as good as his tools. If you want to make the best of your garden, we advise to get to the nearest gardening suppliers in the area and get yourself the following five tools for gardening. They’re a fantastic starting point for any budding gardener and you won’t get very far without them!

Spade

The spade is the basis for your gardening arsenal. Any landscape supplier will have these in stock. Invest in a solid brand that’s known for quality. The spade is essential for digging holes, edging beds and removing sod, in addition to a range of other uses.

Digging Fork

Getting yourself a decent digging fork from your gardening suppliers will result in a massive thank-you note from your back and shoulder muscles. Make sure you get a heavy-duty edition that can handle pretty much anything.

Leaf Rake

The trusty rake is one of the most underrated gardening tools, but nevertheless one that you can’t really go without. If you try and tackle autumn without a leaf rake, you may not be suited for this gardening business after all!

Hand Trowel

When it comes to planting small vegetable and herb gardens or digging out those annoying patches of weed, there’s no tool that beats the hand trowel. It really pays to invest in quality – forged stainless steel combined with a rubber grip will give you a solid product that will last.

Gardening Gloves

This one may come as a slight surprise, but it’s an important ‘tool’ nonetheless. It makes your job much easier and you’ll become a much more efficient gardener. Not to mention, your hands will thank you for it. It’s surprising just how much damage you can do to those fingers when working in your average backyard.

There are several kinds you can get – from washable synthetics, latex-coated gloves, to your heavy-duty leather gloves. These all cater to different requirements. It’s advisable to get all three types if possible, as they will all come in handy (pun intended!).

Final Tips

Finally, there are several final tips we want to give you that apply to all of the tools we’ve mentioned thus far. Firstly, make sure you try them. You may look a bit strange while you’re in the shop, but try to mimic the actions you would do while in the garden. This will give you a good idea of the grip and feel of the tool and if it’s a good fit for your hand.

You should also ensure the grip is made of high-quality materials. For example, if you’re going to go for wood, make sure it has a solid finish and that quality isn’t being disguised by a paint job (a common tactic). Alternatively, go for metal-coated handles. Words like ‘stainless steel’, ‘single forged’ and ‘carbon steel’ are all indicative of quality materials.

Finally, you should always ensure you take care of your garden tools. Store them properly and don’t leave them at the mercy of the elements. If you do this, you will enjoy using your tools for years to come.

Contact Bury Hill Landscape Supplies Ltd. on 01306 877540 for more information on premium grade topsoils and other landscape gardening supplies.

Visit Home and Garden Listings for a wide range of gardening tools suppliers.

January 2014 Special Offer

JANUARY 2014 SPECIAL OFFER – 10% Discount

To celebrate the launch of our Facebook, Twitter and Google + social media channels, we’re offering a 10% discount to all customers who use the code “BH10D” at the checkout of our online store.

Simply add the code “BHD10” at the checkout on our website to automatically receive a 10% saving off your purchase.

Please share this great deal around, before it ends on 23rd February!

The 10% discount code ends on February 23rd 2014 and is eligible to all customers that purchase any of our wide range of products in our online store.

January 2014 Special Offer now void. This code will no longer work when you make purchases on our website.

How to Prepare Your Garden for Winter

When it comes to preparing for the winter, it’s always best to start early. Give yourself plenty of time to get organized and your garden will start off with a huge bang come next spring. The following tips will give your garden that added boost you’re looking for.

Get Rid of Annuals

It may feel a little sad to uproot those plants that looked incredible during the summer, but it needs to be done. Annuals will only last you a single season anyway, so why not maximize their use by adding them to the compost heap?

Cut Those Pesky Perennials

Every year, you’ll get these popping up in your garden. Prior to the start of winter, make sure they are all cut back to soil level. Dispose of all of the cuttings to prevent the spread of disease.

Add Lawn Fertilizer

Give nature a helping hand by adding a little bit of lawn fertilizer before the harsh cold weather descends on your garden.

Have a Pond? Cover It

The first step in protecting your pond from undesirables is placing a net over it. This will stop any falling leaves from falling into the pond and polluting the water. Don’t let the water freeze completely if you own fish; leave a small gap so that they’re allowed to breathe.

Protect Young Trees

Just like with us humans, young trees need plenty of TLC and protection. Get yourself a batch of tree-guard products such as mesh wire to wrap around the tender bark, which will act as a shield against critters and other undesirables.

Weed It Out

Whether on the flower beds or on your lawn, make sure you attack those weeds before the winter sets in. If you don’t, they’ll multiply and you will have a very tough job on your hands come next season.

Compost + Mulch = Protection and Nutrients

Give your garden beds a few inches of compost all over and finish off the process by adding a later of mulch. This effective strategy ensures your lot is given appropriate protection from rodents in addition to plenty of nutrients.

Watch Those Roots

Novice gardeners often make the mistake of removing plants completely, including the roots. The preferred method is to cut the plant at the surface, giving the roots the chance to aerate your garden soil.

User Cover Crops

An easy and super effective way to give your soil a nice security blanket is by sowing cover crops. They will give your garden a guaranteed lift before the start of the next season, giving you a distinct advantage over gardens that are left uncovered.

Need a couple of ideas? Annual ryegrass, winter legumes (winter peas, vetch) and oats will all do a very good job indeed.

Cover or Store Your Tools and Furniture

Depending on how harsh the winters are in your area, it’s always a good idea to protect your tools and garden furniture from the worst of the weather. You can either use plastic covers or a garden shed. You don’t want to have to buy an entirely new range next year!

This may look like an extensive list and it’s easy to feel a little overwhelmed. However, they’re all small jobs that can be done in steps. Just make sure you don’t leave it till the very last minute and your winter garden will thank you!

And don’t forget to visit our online store for all your landscape gardening supplies including premium grade topsoils, lawn turfs, organic compost, bark and woodchippings, fire logs and so much more!