Enjoy your Garden in Autumn
South Africans love spending time outdoors and autumn in one of the most beautiful seasons in the garden.
06/05/2019
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South Africans spend a lot of time outdoors, and there's no reason to hibernate indoors when there is so much to see and do in the garden at this time of the year. To make the most of your outdoor space in Autumn, we compiled a killer list of inviting projects that you can tackle in the garden at this time of the year.
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Stay on top of garden maintenance
The bloom of summer may be over, but I find autumn just as beautiful with its rich colours of gold, red and orange that light up the garden throughout the day. There are also quite a few tasks that need to be done to ensure your garden is ready for the winter ahead and also to stay on top of garden maintenance.
Pruning Shrubs and Trees
While the colder months are ideal for this job, there's no reason why you can't start prepping now for what needs to be done later on. Take the time to draw up a basic plan of your garden in order to determine what trees or shrubs need to be trimmed or shaped.
The advance notice will also give you plenty of time to make sure you have the right tools to tackle autumn projects, particularly pruning tools or saws to cut down larger plants.
One advantage of regular pruning is that you can open up the garden for more sunlight. While we try to buy trees that fit into gardens, these sometimes become far larger than anticipated, or spread out more than they should and block out natural sunlight that is essential for other smaller plants and shrubs.
And don't forget about trees or large shrubs that are starting to intrude on the roof of your home or outbuildings. Before you know, these will be dropping their leaves and blocking gutters and downpipes, or even damaging these if branches break loose.
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Clean out beds and borders
We recently featured an article on how leaves can provide essential nutrients for your garden, so while you are busy cleaning out beds and borders, or trimming back overgrown plants and shrubs, remember to pop this onto your compost heap. Or hire a shredder for the day and incorporate this material into the soil in your garden.
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Look at Garden Design
When all your colourful plantings are done for the season, the garden can look a bit bare. Now is the time to stand back and think about how you can incorporate interest and texture to dress up a winter garden.
Bring in other materials that can be added to your garden for splashes of colour, interesting spots to stop and take a look, and plants that don't mind the cold and will add interesting foliage to the garden.
Enjoy the journey
If you like to take a stroll around your garden, break up large expanses of lawn with interesting features like a short garden path. A pathway doesn't have to lead anywhere but it is a nice way to bring an eye-catching or different focus to a plain garden.
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Another easy way to introduce interest to a winter garden is with natural and organic elements like the warmth of wood accessories, perhaps in the form of a small garden bench or wooden walkway, or with quirky or fun elements that can be hung from trees or mounted on walls.
Design a beautiful entertainment area
Every garden should have a place to sit and relax during the warmer months, whether it's a comfortable spot tucked into a corner of the garden, or a full-on entertainment area that can accommodate all your friends and family.
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If you have been dreaming about setting up an outdoor entertainment area - small or large - then this is the best time to do your planning and put down the base.
There are plenty of materials to choose from for the base of your entertainment area, from a basic gravel bed, to a concrete slab, to interesting cement or brick pavers. Your choice will ultimately be determined by how much you have to spend on the project. Pop into your local Builders Warehouse to see a variety of options that you can use as the base or floor for the entertainment area and then look at whether or not you want to build a cover or add shade.
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