Blog / Seasonal

Autumn tidy-up jobs for Christchurch gardens

Autumn in Canterbury is short and honest — the first frosts usually arrive by May, and whatever is not done by then waits until spring. The highest-value autumn job is also the simplest: get the leaves up. Plane, oak and liquidambar leaves mat into lawns and smother them over winter; mow over light falls to shred them into the sward, and rake the heavy drifts onto beds as free mulch or into the compost.

Next, cut back spent summer growth. Herbaceous perennials, dead tomato vines and finished annuals should come out before they rot into slug hotels. Leave ornamental grasses and anything with seed heads the birds are working — they earn their place until late winter.

Autumn is also planting season. Garlic goes in around Anzac Day, broad beans follow, and new shrubs planted now get months of root growth before summer. Finish by mulching bare beds; a Canterbury winter is mild enough that soil life keeps working, and mulch keeps it working for you.

General guidance only — every section differs. Call 03 381 1008 if the autumn list is longer than your weekends.