It’s time to accept it. The picnic’s over. The sun has finally packed its bags and headed south. The trees are about to do their seasonal wardrobe change. Winter is just around the corner, ready to jump out like some icicle-toothed fiend and send you running and screaming for the safety of the nearest duvet.
But before you bolt the door, turn the heating on and hibernate, there are a few little chores to take care of. Especially if you live in London and you’re lucky enough to have a garden.
Clear The Ground First
You might want to start by removing all those remnants of summer – deflate the paddling pool, pull up the parasols, strip down the BBQ, fold up the deck chairs and ask yourself where on earth you can store all this stuff until the sun comes back. If you don’t have room outside or space indoors, Attic Self Storage is happy to provide the sleek modern alternative to erecting an ugly great big shed.
From Lawn Mower To Leaf Blower
Next – book an appointment in late October or early November to give your lawn its final cut before winter. After you’ve mowed the grass, give it a rake to remove any moss, spike it with a fork to improve winter drainage, then apply a bit of top dressing and lawn feed.
Once you’re disposed of the clippings you can put the lawn mower away until next spring (yes, we have accommodation available) and arm yourself with a leaf blower as the autumn does its darndest to drive you doolally and show you just why the Americans call it ‘fall’.
More Power To The Tools
The growing season is over, so sharpen those shears, grab the secateurs and fire up the hedge strimmer. It’s all about cutting back, pruning, getting rid of the deadwood and leaving everything neat and tidy ready for the spring.
Here are the top ten tasks you’ll need tools to tackle:
Round And Round The Garden Path
Once you’ve done all the dirty work, the last step is to clean up any paths, paving and decking. Use a stiff bristled brush to sweep away the mud, moss and lichen and scrub down wooden fences. If you’ve got a pressure washer now is the time to pull your wellies on and unleash its unbridled power on the filthiest corners of your outside space. Don’t leave a stone un-jetted.
There. Now you can relax.
Gardeners’ Question Time
Let’s see if the horticultural experts have been paying attention. So where’s the safest, securest place to store your spades, forks, rakes, trowels, hoes, scythes, secateurs, pruning shears, strimmers, chainsaws, jet washers, lawn mowers, rotovators, tractors or combine harvesters this winter?
Phone 020 3985 6700 for the answer.
And finally, here’s an interesting little nugget we dug up on the internet:
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Did you know that the contrary Mary featured in the nursery rhyme is believed to be ‘Bloody Mary’ aka Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII? Certain historians seem to think the verse is less about her favourite plants and flowers and more about her penchant for torturing Protestants. ‘Silver bells’ stood for thumb screws, ‘Cockle Shells’ are a genital torture device and ‘Pretty maids all in a row’ represented people lining up to be executed by the ‘Halifax Gibbet’ or guillotine. Not such a sweet rhyme after all.
Happy Halloween!
Contrary to what the skulls and bones and much appropriated imagery might suggest, Día de los Muerto...
27 Nov 2020
With Britain in the grip of another lockdown, you may well be expecting that Christmas will be somet...
13 Nov 2020
One thing we can all agree on is that we’ve been spending a lot more time in our homes this year tha...
5 Nov 2020