Seasonal Gardening Guide For Surrey Landscapes
Taking care of your garden is not a one-time job, but rather an ongoing commitment throughout the seasons. To ensure your outdoor space continues to look great and grows healthily, you need to keep up with its maintenance demands, which will change with the weather.
The kind of care your garden needs will vary based on the time of year and your location. For homeowners in Surrey, each season brings new challenges for your landscape and changing demands to keep your garden healthy and attractive.
Urban Landscapes is a local landscaping company, operating across Surrey and West London. We have years of experience in the region and understand the varying seasonal conditions our clients face, allowing us to offer the best care throughout the year.
In this post, we are providing a seasonal gardening guide specifically for Surrey homeowners, so you can be better prepared and take excellent care of your outdoor space all year round.
Our Seasonal Gardening Guide: What Does Your Surrey Garden Need?
With the changing temperatures and weather with each passing season, Surrey gardens have varying demands throughout the year. Garden maintenance is an ongoing requirement for homeowners who want to ensure their landscapes remain healthy and attractive, but it does not always look the same.
Your garden will require specialist care for each season, whether to promote healthy growth, ensure vibrant blooms, or to future-proof the landscape. To ensure you are always one step ahead, here is a seasonal gardening guide specifically for the region:
Springtime Surrey: Gardening Checklist To Begin The Season
Spring in Surrey is a beautiful time of year for your garden. As the weather begins to warm up and the skies lighten, you can see the stunning landscapes around you and begin to take advantage of this beauty more frequently. Between the months of March to May, spring is in full swing, and your garden needs some special care to get it ready.
After the cold, neglected months of winter, your garden likely needs a refresh. The early months of this season will be spent repairing what has been left behind from the winter and thinking ahead to your future garden design, with seasonal gardening tasks such as:
- Clean Winter Debris: Any remaining leaves, broken branches, and general debris that have been left after the harsh weather of winter will need to be swept away and removed. These not only make your garden look bad, but can also lead to issues of rot and mould if not cared for properly, which is why this is an essential part of spring seasonal gardening.
- Begin Lawn Care: With the warmer weather, things begin to grow once more, including your lawn. Spring is a great time to begin regular lawn mowing again to keep the garden neat. Based on the severity of the winter and the current state of your grass, additional seasonal gardening may be required, such as aeration and fertilisation to encourage new growth.
- Early Planting: Spring is the ideal time to begin planting and see your garden come to life. Hardy annuals, such as cornflowers and petunias, and spring bulbs such as daffodils, are a great way to add colour and interest to your Surrey garden this season.
- Improve Drainage: Springtime in Surrey is usually quite damp, with frequent rain and the occasional storm, which is why drainage plays a large role in seasonal gardening. Ensure your soil is well-drained and frequently maintained during the spring to avoid floods and waterlogging. You may also want to consider working with professional landscapers like our team for hardscaping and new drainage installation.
Summer Garden Care To Beat The Heat
Summers in Surrey can be very hot and humid, which means our gardens require extra care to ensure their ongoing health and beauty. This is a great time of year to get outdoors, and many homeowners will be arranging family gatherings, garden parties, and barbecues to celebrate the season. This season typically lasts from June to August and can be a fun time for many.
Whether you expect to be a social butterfly this season or simply want to be able to enjoy your garden in peace on warm afternoons, you need to keep on top of these seasonal gardening tasks:
- Mulching: Mulching is a key part of this seasonal gardening guide, as it provides a range of benefits to planting areas and is easily handled. Using organic mulch, such as compost or wood chips, can protect your plants by retaining soil moisture and offering essential nutrients throughout the season. Apply a fresh layer of mulch to planting areas and flower beds at the beginning of the season, and ensure to replace it when needed as the months go on.
- Deadhead Flowers: Most flowers reach their peak bloom during late spring or early summer, and deadheading can ensure they come back next year. Deadheading requires you to cut off the flower heads as soon as they fade to conserve energy and prevent pests from taking over your planting areas. This will need to be done for most flowers during the summer.
- Late Season Planting: If you want to add more colour and interest to your garden during the summer, consider hardy, drought-tolerant plants such as lavender, salvia, and agapanthus. These can be used to prolong your seasonal displays and ensure your garden remains a vibrant landscape even in the height of summer.
- Consider Smart Irrigation: Surrey is prone to heat waves in the summer, which may be great news for homeowners who want to get outdoors, but can cause issues for our gardens. This is why smart irrigation systems are incredibly useful for your seasonal gardening, as they handle the watering on your behalf. These systems provide hydration to planting areas automatically or on a schedule to make things easier for you.
Autumn Gardening: Preparing To Slow Down In Surrey
While things begin to slow down during the autumn months, Surrey remains a beautiful place to be. Your garden can continue to be an attractive, vibrant environment throughout September to November, even if the time spent outdoors decreases.
Autumn is the ideal time to begin preparing your garden for its dormant season and take your final opportunities to enjoy the landscape before it gets too cold. These seasonal gardening tasks are essential for lasting health and appeal:
- Leaf Clearing and Composting: As the leaves begin to fall, your garden will become awash with rich colours. While this seasonal display may seem attractive, leaves need to be regularly cleared from your garden to prevent rot and decay, which will damage your lawn and stain hardscaping. These leaves can be used as wildlife habitats in the corner of your landscape or as a layer of mulch for some planting areas.
- Plant Spring Bulbs: The slower pace of autumn gives you an opportunity to plan for the future, which is why an essential part of this seasonal gardening guide is to plant spring bulbs months ahead of time. By planting spring bulbs now, you can notice the change of seasons next year and save yourself some hassle as the seasons progress. As well as planting spring bulbs, take some time to separate perennials to ensure an even display when they return next season, too.
- Frost Protection: The weather will begin to get cold quite suddenly, and some of the plants in your garden may not be able to survive this. Frost protection in the form of plant covers, mulch layers, and barriers needs to be applied early in the season to give these tender plants the best chance. These should remain throughout autumn and winter.
- Improve Drainage: If you did not have an opportunity to work on drainage in the spring, or need a refresh, autumn is another wet season that requires this form of seasonal gardening. Now is the ideal time to ensure all soil is well drained and paving is permeable or has suitable exterior drainage systems to withstand the wet weather of autumn and winter.
Winter-Proofing Surrey Gardens
Although you may not be spending any time in your garden this season, it does not mean your work is over. There are certain seasonal gardening tasks that should take place during the winter to ensure your garden remains safe and healthy, ready to return next year.
These seasonal gardening tasks are centred around protecting your existing landscape and planning for the future, such as:
- Tree and Shrub Pruning: As trees enter their dormant stage during winter, this season is a great opportunity to cut back these plants and ensure they are secure. Remove any dead or diseased branches, as well as cut back damaged areas to give your tree more strength for the rest of the year.
- Clean and Secure Garden Tools: Before the frost sets in, make sure that all garden furniture and tools have been securely stored away, such as in garden rooms or a shed. Clean all tools before storing, to prevent rust and mould, and make sure any exterior structures are covered with waterproof protection and secured in place throughout the season.
- Insulate or Remove Pots: Consider bringing potted plants and flowers indoors for the season, to keep them warm and healthy. Alternatively, ensure sensitive plants are covered and protected from the frost with mulch or fleece covers.
- Stay Alert to Temperature: While a mild winter may seem fun, it can cause issues for your garden as it may lead to early blooms. Keep an eye on the temperature throughout the winter and keep track of your plants to ensure you can support their needs as they grow and develop, even if this happens earlier than expected.
Conclusion
Taking care of your garden throughout the years requires flexibility and varying skills to ensure you can meet the needs of your landscape. Surrey is a stunning location that experiences all four seasons, meaning your gardening needs to be able to adjust to accommodate this.
In this seasonal gardening guide, we have shared the best ways you can care for your Surrey garden based on the weather to ensure it thrives and remains healthy. For additional support or design advice, consider working with our team. We offer a range of landscaping and construction services throughout the year to help bring out the best in your garden.
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