Page 8 - Autunm newsletter 2024

The glory of

gardening

The beautiful gardens

of St Catherine’s Park

are tended to by our Marshall on the right with volunteers, Andrew and Andy.
groundsman Marshall

and his dedicated team

of volunteers.

Here, Marshall shares his top tips on how to get your garden winter-ready, protect
wildlife, and how to bring the outside, indoors.

1. It’s best to store tender plants 3. Cover borders and areas for provide wildlife habitats for
in your house, shed, garage, growing veg with ‘green manure’ hedgehogs, birds, insects, and
greenhouse or conservatory to such as buckwheat, banana peels even frogs and newts.
shield them from frost. Tender and even peas and beans
plants can live for years but unlike (not the mushy or baked kind!). 6. I’d also advise spending
hardy plants, they don’t cope well This helps keep nutrients in the some time on equipment
in cold or wet weather. Bring in the ground. When you turn it over in maintenance. Do your last lawn
likes of begonias, herbs, dahlias, spring, the green manure acts cut around October and then
and geraniums. as a fertiliser. empty any petrol from your
mower, sharpen blades, and just
2. If you can’t relocate everything 4. Give yourself a head-start make sure everything is clean
indoors, you can cover them up for spring and to prevent rotting and dry so nothing rusts when
with bubble-wrap to protect during the winter. Cut back it’s not being used.
from frost, and place a thick your trees, bushes and shrubs.
layer of mulch such as bark or Paint your fences. Clear leaves 7. Prep your lawn in October/
straw from the pet shop over and debris. November. Clear leaves, cut it
the top of the soil, to protect (not too short) and use a garden
the bulbs underground. 5. Don’t be too thorough in fork to aerate it to support
tidying up, though. Leave some drainage, then use an autumn/
grasses, leaves and hedgerows to winter fertiliser (weed and feed).

African Violets Bring nature indoors
Marshall recommends these indoor
winter-flowering plants:

• African Violets
• Cyclamen
• Amaryllis • Clivia
• Anthurium • Lipstick plant
• Bromeliaceae • Orchid
• Christmas • Peace Lily
cactus • Poinsettia
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