Getting your garden ready for winter in Harrogate

November is when the garden starts to slow down, but a few jobs now make a big difference to how it looks next spring. Harrogate and Ripon winters are cold, wet and often windy, so here's a simple checklist to get your garden ready, from a local landscape gardener.

Keeping the lawn clear of leaves stops yellow patches and moss over winter.

1. Keep on top of the leaves

Leaves left on lawns, paths and patios block the light, hold moisture and turn slippery. Clear them every week or two until the trees are bare. Pile them in a corner or a wire cage and in a year or two you'll have free leaf mould to spread on your borders.

2. Give the lawn a last tidy, then leave it alone

Do a final cut with the mower blades raised while the grass is still dry enough, then stay off it when it's frosty or waterlogged. Walking on frozen grass damages it and leaves brown footprints. For the full autumn lawn routine, see our autumn lawn care guide.

3. Tidy and mulch the borders

Cut back perennials that have gone soft and brown, but leave seed heads and grasses that look good in frost and feed the birds. Then spread a 5cm layer of compost, bark or leaf mould over the soil. Mulch keeps the roots warmer, holds down weeds and improves heavy clay soil over time.

A mulched border with timber edging, ready for winter.

4. Protect tender plants and pots

Move pots of tender plants against a sheltered wall or into a greenhouse, and raise containers on pot feet so they drain and don't crack in a freeze. Wrap anything borderline, like young olive trees or tree ferns, in horticultural fleece on cold nights.

5. Check fences, sheds and trees before the storms

Winter gales are when loose fence panels and rotten posts finally give way. Have a walk round and look for wobbly posts, split panels and branches overhanging the house or the road. Fixing a post now is much cheaper than replacing a whole run of fence after a storm.

6. Clean paths and patios

Algae and moss make paving dangerously slippery in winter. A brush and a patio cleaner, or a careful jet wash, keeps steps and paths safe and stops weeds rooting in the joints.

7. Plant for next year

November is a great month for planting bare-root hedges, trees, shrubs and roses, and for getting tulip bulbs in the ground. The soil is still workable and there's plenty of rain to settle them in.

A tidy, well-kept garden ready for winter, near Harrogate.

8. Look after the wildlife

Put out bird food and fresh water, especially in frosty weather, and leave a quiet corner with a log pile or some leaves for hedgehogs. Always check bonfire piles for hedgehogs before lighting them.

Want your garden ready for winter without the hard work? GardenCare offers winter tidy-ups, leaf clearing, border mulching, hedge cutting and fence repairs across Harrogate, Ripon and the surrounding villages. Call 07555 289859 for a free quote.