9 Tips To Get Your Rental Garden Ready For Winter

For most of us, our gardens get a little neglected over the winter months. But here are 9 tips to get your rental garden ready for winter, help you minimise damage and look ahead to some colour in spring.

Prune large shrubs and trees

Shrubs are great in a garden because they don’t take much looking after and often provide year round greenery. Before the winter hits, take off any dead flowers. Prune large shrubs so that they don’t begin to take over the garden next year.

If hedges or trees are large, you will need to call in a specialist to prune them back to a manageable size. Only use electric equipment or ladders if the job requires it, you are trained, take adequate precautions and can remain safe. Contact New Mills Properties office or log an issue on our maintenance and repair site if you have any concerns.

Rake up fallen leaves

Fallen leaves on paths can make them dangerously slippery. A lot of leaves left on a lawn, especially during a heavy snowfall can suffocate the grass and leave you with a great muddy space come spring. If you don’t want to rake the leaves, pick a dry day and mow over them to break them into small pieces and use as a mulch in your flower beds to prevent weeds growing.

Composting your leaves is far better than adding them to a landfill where they may produce harmful gases.

Pull up weeds and dying plants

Remove any plants that are diseased or dying. Don’t add them to your compost, instead bag them or burn them if it is safe to do so.

Dig out any weeds while you are at it and ensure that there is enough water in the soil to keep plants moist over the winter.

Pests love a bit of slime so, to prevent disease, remove any leaves that have gone slimy. This usually happens after a hard frost.

Cut back perennials

If you have plants that come back every year wait until the first real frost and then cut back to about 4-6 inches. All of the plant’s energy retreats to below the ground and is stored there, ready to regrow in the spring.

Plant bulbs

Daffodils, crocus, bluebells, tulips and other bulbs planted in the autumn will bring lots of inexpensive colour in the spring.

Put garden furniture away

To prevent garden furniture from suffering damage over the winter, put it away in a shed. If a shed isn’t available store it covered in a sheltered part of the garden.

Now is also the time to clean and safely store your gardening tools.

Tidy paths and paving

Use a stiff brush and some water to clean all of your paving. This will make it less slippery and much safer during the wet weather.

Check the condition of gates and fencing

If fencing, fenceposts or gates are broken or damaged, report the issue through the repairs button on the website. We will arrange for a someone to check out the problem and, if necessary, make the repair.

Is the garden of your rental property ready for winter? Look out for further advice about how to prepare your property for winter in the next week or two.

Watch out for snow

Prolonged or heavy snow can have a devastating effect on your garden. While clearing paths, also take a few minutes to brush heavy snowfall from fences and favourite plants to prevent damage.

 

Pick clear dry days to do this prep work and in the Spring, your garden will spring back to life.