My Gardening Year Starts Now: Seeds, Bulbs, and Plans for Spring

My Gardening Year Starts Now

My gardening year does not truly end with the last harvest of tomatoes or the final basket of apples. While you might imagine that once the leaves fall and the evenings draw in, the growing season is over, really this is the moment when the next cycle of gardening begins.

Autumn and winter are not periods of inactivity; they are my seasons for preparation, reflection, and investment for the year to come. In fact, some of the most important work us gardeners can do happens now, long before the first shoots of spring appear.

Soil Care and Winter Preparation

Fertile soil is vital for healthy plants. Soil care is central to this stage of the gardening year. By caring for the ground now, I ensure it will be ready to support lush, healthy growth when spring returns.

Adding compost and manure

Beds that once bore heavy crops benefit from the addition of well-rotted manure or homemade compost. I mulch around my perennials too, trying not to tread on the clay soil and so compact it. I sweep up any fallen leaves from paths and patio but those on the ground I let remain for the worms to work in.

Green manures and cover crops

As crops are harvested or annuals cleared from borders, don’t leave bare patches. Green manures, such as crimson clover or phacelia, can be sown to protect the soil from erosion and enrich it with nutrients.

Depending on your soil type and what you intend growing next year, there are many green manures to choose from. For up-to-date in-depth guidance on choosing and growing green manures, visit https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/expert-advice/garden-management/soil/green-manures

Protecting soil structure through winter

For my heavy soil I have grown grazing rye which is recommended for clay soil improvement. It’s a hardy annual and will overwinter so I chopped it down in the New Year and covered it so as not to dig it in.

I use other materials as mulch too – home garden compost, composted bark, cardboard, leaf mould as I adopt a no-dig regime to avoid treading on the soil as much as possible.

Cutting Back and Trimming for Healthy Growth

Perhaps the first task of this new gardening year we think of is cutting back and tidying. Herbaceous perennials, which die down after their summer display, can be trimmed to ground level, while faded annuals should be cleared away to free up soil for re-sowing.

Why trimming matters in autumn

Trimming and cutting not only keep the garden looking cared for, they also prevent pests and diseases from overwintering. But don’t overdo it, leave some seed heads, hips and haws for the birds. If you don’t have space for a ‘neglected’ patch for overwintering wildlife then a bug hotel is a decorative alternative.

Which plants to cut back now

Trees and shrubs can be pruned during the dormant season to encourage healthy growth and better shapes for the following year. Bush roses, buddleia, fruit bushes, and deciduous hedges all benefit from thoughtful trimming at this stage, ensuring they grow vigorously once warmer days arrive.

Caring for tools

I give my tools a good scrub and oil them before putting away. Keeping snips, secateurs and lopper blades sharp helps achieve a clean cut. The wounds can heal more quickly, which lowers the chance of infection.

Planting Bulbs for a Colourful Spring

This is the moment for spring bulbs and seeds. Autumn is the prime time to plant spring-flowering bulbs such as alliums, daffodils, crocuses, and later tulips (November). Tucking them into the soil, while it is still soft and warm, ensures they have time to establish roots and will be ready to burst into life just as winter recedes.

Tips for layering and spacing bulbs

"In containers with one type of bulb to make a statement. Or alternatively use layers of different bulb so that your container provides an abundant multi-variety display or a long-lasting succession of spring flowers." This is often called lasagne planting due to the layers, but Sue thinks of it more like a trifle. "Larger bulbs at the bottom with bulbs getting smaller in size as your layers are nearer the top of the container. The stems lower down will find a way up through any layers of bulbs or foliage planted above them." For more tips and ideas read Suburban Sue’s blog https://justseed.com/blogs/news/spring-will-come-again?_

Sowing Seeds and Getting Ahead

Seeds, too, play their part in the gardening year’s new beginning. Now is the time to plant onion sets and garlic. I shall be sowing broad beans later in the autumn. Their roots help fix nitrogen in the soil and provide an early crop of tender beans in the spring.

Hardy annuals to sow now

Hardy annuals like sweet peas can be sown in trays or pots to overwinter for a head start in spring. Bare patches in the border can be sown direct with cornflower, nigella, calendula, larkspur or scabious, which establish strong root systems to provide an early display the following year. 

Houseplant Seedlings to start indoors

A range of houseplants can be started from seed indoors, including easy-to-grow options like cacti and succulents as well as the more unusual bat flowers, asparagus ferns, and living stones. 

For a quick harvest on the windowsill, sow seeds for a variety of leafy salads and herbs, especially as microgreens for topping salads..

Not forgetting indoor flowering bulbs for winter display; fragrant hyacinths, scented narcissus and stunning amaryllis. 

As night temperatures cool, a reminder too is to bring your tender plants indoors. I have brought my lemon tree back in alongside a variegated lavender plus a range of potted herbs for my kitchen windowsill.

Planning Next Year’s Garden

Planning is an essential job in this season of possible beginnings. A garden thrives not only on effort but on imagination and anticipation. Now is the time I review what worked and what didn’t during the past growing season. Were my beans too shaded? Did the borders feel overcrowded? Did a plant fail in the heat and need replacing or the soil enriching with compost?

Reviewing what worked and what didn’t

Redesigning beds and borders

 By walking the garden in its quieter state, it becomes easier to see its bones, its underlying design, and to decide what adjustments I might make for improvement. Gardening magazines provide inspiration for new features or plants. I often cut out pictures and articles that catch my eye and imagine the colours and textures to come.

The Continuous Cycle of Gardening

The gardening year is a continuous cycle, not a sequence of endings. While harvesting brings closure to one stage, mulching, planting, trimming, and planning open the door to the next. By embracing the tasks of autumn and winter I don’t just mark time until spring but lay the foundations for it. The year starts now, with imagination, effort, and anticipation rooting firmly in the soil.