Make a Start with the Leaves

Autumn has a way of arriving quietly and then all at once. One morning the lawn is a mosaic of gold and bronze, the borders are leaning under the weight of late rain, and the greenhouse suddenly needs a pair of gloves beside the door. Rather than seeing this as a slide into dormancy, treat it as the most useful gardening season of the year — the fortnight or so of steady work now will pay you back threefold when spring arrives.

Start where the effect is most obvious: the leaves. A thick carpet left on a lawn will smother the grass beneath, encouraging moss and disease through the damp months. Rake little and often rather than waiting for the last leaf to fall, and never leave a heavy layer sitting over alpines or low-growing herbs.

What you gather is not waste, it is treasure. Fill a bin bag or a simple wire cage with damp leaves, punch a few holes for air, and tuck it behind the shed. Within a year or so you will have leaf mould — crumbly, dark and perfect as a mulch or seed-sowing compost. Oak, beech and hornbeam break down slowly and are worth the patience; sycamore and horse chestnut are faster.

Give the Lawn Its Last Cut of the Year

A British lawn rarely goes truly dormant, so what you do now sets its tone for spring. Raise the cutting height slightly for the final cuts of the season — around 4cm rather than the 2.5cm you might have used in June. Short grass going into winter is vulnerable grass.

• Scarify lightly to remove thatch if the surface feels spongy underfoot.
• Aerate by spiking with a garden fork every 15cm or so, especially on heavy clay.
• Apply an autumn feed that is low in nitrogen and higher in potassium and phosphorus, which encourages root growth rather than soft top growth.
• Repair bare patches with seed while the soil is still warm — it will germinate quickly now and be established before the frosts.
• Keep the mower blades sharp and give the machine a service before you store it.

Edges matter too. A crisp line along the border instantly makes a garden look cared for, even when everything else is winding down.

Plant Now for a Spring You Will Thank Yourself For

This is the great joy of autumn. Bulbs planted in September and October have weeks of warm soil in which to root, so they flower earlier and stronger than anything planted in a rush during a cold February.

As a rough guide, plant each bulb at about three times its own depth. Tulips go deeper than you might expect — 15cm to 20cm is fine for most — and benefit from a handful of grit in the planting hole if your soil is heavy. Daffodils, crocus, alliums, snowdrops and fritillaries all settle in happily now.

Plant in generous drifts rather than single-file lines, and resist the temptation to tidy the dying foliage of existing daffodils and narcissi — those leaves are feeding the bulb for next year. If your borders need a lift, this is also the ideal moment to move or divide overgrown perennials while the soil is still workable.

Cut Back, But Not Too Much

Tidiness is a virtue in a British autumn garden, but a ruthless one will cost you next year's wildlife. Aim for a middle path.

• Cut back tired herbaceous perennials such as hardy geraniums and nepeta, but leave a few seedheads standing — they look beautiful rimed with frost and feed the finches.
• Leave hollow stems of sedum, eryngium and old bamboo stubs intact, as these are winter shelters for insects.
• Prune roses lightly to prevent wind rock, saving the hard structural cut for late winter.
• Hold off on pruning anything that will bleed sap, such as acers, birch and vines, until midwinter or later.
• Give hedges their final trim, but check carefully for late nests before you start.

Anything diseased — rose blackspot, hellebore leaf spot — should go in the council green waste rather than your compost heap.

Protect Soil, Pots and Tender Plants

Bare soil loses structure and nutrients to winter rain, so cover it. A mulch of well-rotted manure or garden compost, spread 5cm to 8cm deep over borders, will suppress weeds, feed worms and insulate roots. Leave a small gap around stems and crowns to prevent rot.

Lift dahlias, cannas and gladioli after the first light frost, dry them off, and store them in barely damp compost in a frost-free shed or garage. Move citrus, olives and other tender pots under cover, and raise terracotta pots onto feet or bricks so they drain freely and are less likely to crack in a hard freeze. Wrap larger containers in bubble wrap or hessian for insulation.

In the greenhouse, clean the glass to let in every scrap of low winter light, and check that vents and automatic openers still work before you seal things up.

Look After the Bones of the Garden

Finally, turn your attention to the things that hold everything together. Clean, sharpen and oil your hand tools, and store them somewhere dry with a light wipe of camellia oil or similar to keep rust at bay. Drain hosepipes, lag outdoor taps, and empty water butts before the first hard frost can split them.

Repair fences, gates and raised beds now, when the ground is soft enough to drive posts but the garden is quiet. Clear gutters on sheds and greenhouses. Stock up on grit, fleece and cloches so you are not hunting for them on the coldest evening of the year.

Do a little each dry day rather than trying to conquer everything at once. Autumn work is not about forcing the garden to stay in summer; it is about setting it up so that when the light returns, everything is already quietly ready.