Autumn arrives with very little pomp, as do most of the other seasons, you’d have to say, but there is a nice transitional period from summer to autumn that has a niceness all of its own. There’s also something energising for the gardener’s soul while waiting for the leaves to change colour and imagining all the new plantings you might endeavour to bed-in before the winter arrives.
It’s also very easy to relax at this time of year and in reality, there’s a lovely pace to the garden in March where you can choose to do as little or as much as you want. There’s always going to be leggy summer plants to prune back, flowers to deadhead and lawns to mow, but if you take all these jobs at a leisurely pace, then there’s no real harm done – apart from the lawn, of course, which you’ll still have to cut at least every two weeks for the next month or two.
And speaking of lawns, autumn is a great time to get out and repair or revive some tired and damaged sections that might not be looking the best after the hot summer. Aerating the compacted ground beneath your lawn, over-sowing with some seed to help repair thin and bare patches and a good application of autumn lawn food are all jobs to think about over the next couple of months. Not to mention the ideal conditions for laying some new turf.
Your garden as a whole is probably relieved to be out of the summer heat. I know I am, although there’s no guarantee it won’t continue to be hot. The added humidity can also be a catalyst for pest and disease problems, so if you are inclined to give everything a trim and a tidy-up, you’ll promote stronger and more resilient plants that are better able to endure these potential issues. A feed will go a long way to promoting this vigour and with soil health being of such paramount importance, a fertiliser that contains microbes to assist in this area is surely a no-brainer.
Hedges, whilst not quite as needy and demanding as lawns, can still use a bit of attention this month, especially if you’ve let them grow out a touch over the summer to better protect them from the heat – or has it just been too hot to go out and trim them? Either way, leading up to winter, a regular trim to keep them nice and tight and keep them looking sharp would not go astray.
You could possibly roll this month and next into the same garden job basket, don’t forget, those leaves will eventually change colour and before you know it, you’ll have a whole lot of raking, blowing and tidying up to do. Or you may only have evergreens in your garden but where’s the fun in that? Autumn is all about colours!
March jobs to do now:
- Repair and rejuvenate lawns
- Get pruning
- Plant or pot up some autumn colour
- Feed both soil and plants
