The Turning Point of the Gardening Year

Early autumn is, quietly, one of the most useful stretches in the British gardening calendar. The soil is still warm from summer, the air has cooled, and the rain has usually returned. Roots are actively growing, weeds are slowing down, and anything you plant or move now has a genuine chance to settle in before the cold bites. It is the season of gentle, satisfying work rather than frantic catch-up.

The aim over the next few weeks is simple: help the garden finish the year in good order, feed the wildlife that shares it with you, and set up the spring display while it is still easy to do so. Here are the jobs worth prioritising between now and mid-October.

Deal with Fallen Leaves Before They Become a Problem

Leaves are the defining feature of early autumn, and they are also the most valuable free resource your garden produces. Left in thick drifts on a lawn, however, they block light and trap moisture, which weakens the grass and encourages moss and disease. Rake little and often rather than waiting for the whole canopy to drop — it is far less arduous and keeps the lawn breathing.

Rather than treating them as waste, turn them into leaf mould. A simple wire cage or a few bin bags with a handful of holes punched in them will do the job. Damp the leaves if they are dry, tie the bags loosely, and tuck them behind a shed. Oak, beech and hornbeam take two years to break down; sycamore, lime and horse chestnut are much quicker. The result is a superb soil conditioner for potting mixes and mulching.

• Keep leaves out of ponds and off gravel paths, where they become slippery.
• Add only small quantities to the compost heap at a time — large amounts mat down and go slimy.
• Leave a few undisturbed piles in border corners for hedgehogs, frogs and overwintering insects.
• Spread a thin layer directly onto bare borders and let the worms pull it down.

Plant Spring Bulbs While the Soil Is Still Warm

This is the job that pays back most generously. Daffodils, crocus, snowdrops, alliums, fritillaries and muscari all want to go in from September onwards, giving them time to root before the ground cools. Tulips are the exception — plant them in November, as bulbs sitting in warm, wet soil too early are more prone to rotting and disease.

The old rule of thumb holds: plant each bulb at roughly three times its own height. Set them pointy end up, though if you genuinely cannot tell which way is which, planting them on their side works perfectly well. In heavy clay, add a handful of grit or horticultural sand to the planting hole to improve drainage.

If space is tight, plant in layers. In a large pot or a deep border, put the biggest bulbs — daffodils or alliums — deepest, then tulips above them, then crocus or snowdrops near the surface. You get three seasons of interest from one patch of ground. In lawns, scatter bulbs by hand and plant them where they land for a natural drift, and mark the area so you do not mow the emerging shoots in spring.

Tidy Tired Perennials — but Not Too Thoroughly

By early autumn, many herbaceous perennials are looking ragged: mildewed foliage, collapsed stems, flowers long finished. Cutting back the worst of it improves airflow and tidies the border, and any healthy material can go on the compost heap.

Resist the urge to strip everything to the ground, though. Seedheads from teasels, echinacea, sedum, globe thistles and ornamental grasses feed goldfinches and provide frost-catching structure through winter. Hollow stems left standing are valuable hibernation sites for solitary bees and other insects. A mixed approach — some cut, some left — is the best of both worlds.

While the soil is still workable, lift and divide perennials that have become congested or are flowering poorly. Replant the healthy outer sections and discard the woody centre. Dahlias can be left until the first frost blackens their foliage, then lifted, dried and stored somewhere cool, dark and frost-free in slightly damp compost.

Give the Lawn and Soil Some Autumn Attention

Lawns respond well to a bit of care now. Scarify to remove thatch, then aerate by pushing a garden fork into the turf at regular intervals, or use a hollow-tine tool on compacted areas. On heavy clay soils this single job can transform drainage over winter. Follow with an autumn feed that is low in nitrogen and higher in potassium and phosphorus, which encourages root growth rather than soft leafy growth that frost will damage.

Bare or thin patches can be overseeded now while the soil is warm, and a light top dressing of sieved compost will help the seed settle. In borders, spread a generous mulch of well-rotted organic matter over the soil surface, but keep it clear of plant stems and crowns to avoid rotting them. If the ground is waterlogged or sticky, wait — working wet soil does lasting damage to its structure.

Prepare Tender Plants and Structures for Winter

Before the first cold nights arrive, move tender plants such as citrus, pelargoniums, fuchsias and aeoniums under cover. Clean greenhouse glass inside and out to let in as much low winter light as possible, and ease back on watering as growth slows — soggy compost in cool conditions is the quickest route to botrytis. Raise pots onto feet so they drain freely, and wrap terracotta and other frost-prone containers in bubble wrap or hessian.

• Clean, sharpen and oil hand tools before they are put away, and store them dry.
• Clear gutters, drainpipes and water butts so autumn rain is captured rather than wasted.
• Order bare-root roses, hedging and fruit trees now for planting during the dormant season.
• Check stakes, ties and tree guards, replacing any that have perished.

Do these few things well and the garden will slide into winter in good health — ready to reward you the moment spring arrives.