Garden Diary

November Garden Diary

Cold nights and short dark days are sure signs that winter is approaching. But don’t hang up your gardening gloves just yet—there’s still plenty to do to prepare for next year and to keep your garden looking its best. Clearing leaves, tackling weeds and refreshing your patio now will set the stage for a better spring. November gardening also brings a splash of colour and provides a welcome dose of fresh air and exercise.

Beds and Borders

Tidy up your borders by cutting back perennials and removing any dead growth. This is also a good time to lift and split large clumps of plants you’d like to multiply, or to move shrubs that are not thriving in their current spot.

While working around the garden, clear fallen leaves and debris. Not only will this keep things tidy, but it also removes hiding places for slugs and snails. If these pests are a recurring problem, apply slug control along borders and lawn edges where they often shelter.

Patio Tubs and Baskets

Don’t let your patio look bare until spring bulbs emerge. Plant up tubs and window boxes with winter pansies, variegated ivy and heathers for colour and structure right through the colder months. For best results, add a layer of gravel at the bottom of containers to ensure good drainage, which is vital for root health.

Don’t forget the hard surfaces. Patios often develop patches of black mould, algae and moss over autumn, leaving them slippery and dull. Greener Gardens can help—our professional patio treatment targets algae and moss, with a gentle detergent action that gradually brightens the surface over the following weeks and months.

Lawn Care

Don’t neglect your lawn in November. A light cut—without scalping—will keep it tidy, and trimming the edges creates a sharp, clean finish. Most importantly, rake up fallen leaves. Left in place, they block out light, trap moisture and can cause bare patches.

After a challenging year with a dry spring and hot summer, many lawns are still struggling. If you notice thin or dormant patches, consider aerating. By opening up the soil, you allow water and nutrients to reach the roots, encouraging stronger, deeper growth. At Greener Gardens, we use professional aerators and can follow up with a soil improver for the best results.

It’s not too late to apply an autumn lawn feed with moss control. These treatments strengthen roots, improve colour and help your lawn resist winter stress, while reducing moss. If moss and/or bare patches are already a problem, autumn is the time to plan ahead—book a scarification treatment for spring to restore a healthier, thicker lawn.

If all this sounds like hard work, leave it to us. Greener Gardens has the equipment, expertise and treatments to keep your lawn in excellent shape right through to spring.

Grow Your Own

If you’ve got bare soil in the vegetable garden, dig it over now while conditions are manageable. Add organic matter such as well-rotted compost, used potting compost or farmyard manure to improve soil structure and fertility ready for next year’s crops. The more you incorporate now, the better your soil will be come spring.

Garden Diary is written by John Draper of Greener Gardens, your local independent BASIS Lawn Assured specialist and past Chairman of the UK Lawncare Association.