As the nights draw in and the weather gets colder, you might think it’s time to put off any plans you have for your garden until next year. In fact, now is a great time to plan a new garden, and get it built, planted and ready for next summer.
It’s not too late to build
It may be cooler, but the really bad weather won’t arrive until the New Year, and the days are still relatively long, so the next few months are perfect for constructing paths, patios, fences, walls, water features and so on.
Planting starts here
Autumn, winter and spring are the best times to plant. In the summer, any newly planted specimens will need to be watered regularly, and may be stressed during hot, dry weather. In the autumn, that’s not a problem. Plants put in now will have time to develop a strong root system, because the soil stays warm into autumn.
Many deciduous plants – particularly trees, roses and hedging – are traditionally planted from late autumn through to early spring as ‘bare-rooted’ plants. While they would be unlikely to survive this upheaval during the growing season, when they’re dormant, it isn’t a problem. Plants bought in this way work out considerably cheaper than pot-grown plants.