Autumn Jobs to Protect Plants from Wind and Rain

Why Exposed Gardens Need a Head Start

If your garden sits on the edge of the moors, you know autumn arrives differently here. A still, golden afternoon can turn into a night of driving rain and forty-mile-an-hour gusts with little warning, leaving plants that stood proudly all summer flat on the ground. A few well-timed jobs now will save a great deal of heartache later: the soil is still warm, the plants are still growing, and there is just enough daylight to get ahead of the weather.

Staking Tall Perennials Before the Gales Arrive

Rudbeckia, helenium, crocosmia, Japanese anemones and the taller grasses are the first to suffer. Once stems have kinked, strapping them up does more harm than good, so get supports in while plants are still reasonably upright and let them grow into the structure.

• Push birch pea sticks, hazel stems or slim canes in around the clump, then loop soft twine around the outside in a loose figure of eight. Aim for a cradle, not a corset.
• For heavy clumps, a ring of link stakes or a homemade cage set a few inches below the plant's eventual height will be hidden by foliage next summer.
• Check ties on shrubs and young trees. Loosen anything biting into bark and replace worn twine before winter.
• Leave seedheads on sedums and grasses. They shrug off wind, feed the birds and look superb frosted on a clear morning.

Improving Drainage on Heavy, Wet Ground

Moorland soils are often thin, peaty or heavy clay, and once saturated they stay that way for weeks. Roots sitting in cold, waterlogged ground rot quietly over winter, which is why plants that look fine in November are dead by March.

• Work coarse grit, horticultural sand or well-rotted compost into beds that puddle, and fork over any areas that have capped.
• In a low corner that floods, dig a shallow soakaway or short French drain filled with gravel and topped with turf, directing water away from crowns.
• Plant on a slight mound in the wettest spots, so the growing point sits above the water table.
• Move the most vulnerable plants into raised beds or large pots with generous drainage if the ground simply will not dry out.

Gathering Leaves for Leafmould and Compost

Fallen leaves are the most underrated resource in a countryside garden. Left in a heap, they break down into leafmould: a dark, crumbly material that improves soil structure, holds moisture in dry spells and feeds the worms. It costs nothing but a little effort and a few old bags.

• Keep leafmould separate from your general compost. Leaves are rich in carbon and slow to rot, and a thick layer will stall a working heap.
• Fill old compost bags, a wire cage or a ring of posts and netting with damp leaves. Punch holes in bags, tie loosely and tuck them behind a shed.
• Run the mower over tough leaves such as oak and beech to speed things up. A mix of soft and tough leaves breaks down most evenly.
• Leave a thin scatter under hedges and trees. Fallen leaves are free mulch, shelter for insects and a larder for blackbirds.

Protecting Pots, Roots and Tender Plants

Containers take the worst of the weather: waterlogged compost, freezing roots and wind-rock all do damage, and terracotta can crack in a hard frost.

• Raise pots onto feet or bricks so water drains freely. Clear saucers and check that drainage holes are not blocked.
• Group pots together in a sheltered corner. Clustering cuts wind damage and insulates the rootballs.
• Wrap terracotta and glazed pots in hessian or bubble wrap, and move tender specimens into a cold frame or under cover.
• Apply a generous mulch of bark, compost or gravel around crowns, keeping it clear of stems to avoid rot.
• For tender shrubs in the ground, tie branches loosely and wrap with fleece or hessian, secured so it cannot flap loose in the first storm.

Windbreaks, Repairs and a Final Walk Round

Check fences, gates and shed roofs before the first big blow, and mend anything loose while the weather is still on your side.

• Erect or repair windbreak netting or a woven hurdle on the exposed side. A permeable barrier slows wind; a solid one pushes it over the top and creates damaging eddies.
• Firm back any plants lifted by wind or frost, without compacting the soil around them.
• Clear gutters, drains and water butts so heavy rain has somewhere to go.
• After each storm, walk the garden and re-tie anything that has worked loose.

None of these jobs is complicated or time-consuming. Do them in the soft, still days between weather fronts, and your garden will go into winter with dry roots, supported stems and soil quietly improving beneath a blanket of leaves. Come spring, on the first warm morning, you will be glad you did.