October gardening in Salisbury: now’s the time to plan, prepare, and plant for spring

When it comes to having a blooming garden in spring, October is the time to prepare.

By laying the groundwork now, your plants will have time to settle in and put down roots over autumn and winter, so they're ready for the big push skywards once the coldest months are gone.

Even if you've never really gardened before, it can be surprisingly easy, enjoyable, and enriching with a few expert tips, and our guide to October gardening is all about making it simple to:

• Tidy up and trim.
• Get a fast floral fix.
• Bed your bulbs and corms.
• Woo the winter wildlife.
• Prime your pots to pop.

Breaking down these jobs into manageable and pleasurable chunks creates little rewards at every stage for a blooming spring garden to enjoy for yourself, or captivate buyers. Let's dig in!

TIDY UP AND TRIM

One of the most satisfying garden jobs is cutting back spent summer plants to let others shine. Evergreens and seed heads will make a beautiful show through winter as your garden slumbers, so:

• Trim evergreens, bushes and shrubs into tidy shapes - pruning can really bring out the structure of your garden.
• Leave architectural dried leaves and seed heads such as teasel, poppy, allium and ornamental grasses to grace your garden with their beauty - they look magical dusted with frost.
• Rake up leaves and put them into their own compost pile, or bag them up for collection by the council or local gardeners. All their goodness will make a fantastic spring compost!

Just like a cut and blow dry, these simple tricks will give your garden a groomed and gorgeous groove, even while it sleeps.

GET A FROST-PROOF FLORAL FIX

You don’t need to wait for spring to have a blooming garden. If you want some instant gratification for your pots, window boxes or borders, winter bedding plants are your friend.

• These delightful flowers serve up a gorgeous burst of colour through the winter months, and you buy them when they’re little and just about to bloom.
• Lush pansies and delicate violas are soft and velvety favourites, with a picture-postcard wintery joy that flowers through winter and into spring.
• Primroses, primulas and cowslips are another group of quintessential early spring blooms. Plant them among bulbs, or in with pansies and violas, for a softer, more ‘natural’ look.

As a bonus, winter bedding is also a great way to plump up your displays and plug any gaps. With their green leaves and pretty flowers, they mix well with any bulbs as an underlayer for a sophisticated take.

BED YOUR BULBS AND CORMS

Growing bulbs (and their sturdier cousins, corms) is surprisingly easy. Pick the right ones, plant them now, and enjoy your reward of pollen and scent in any colour you desire throughout the spring.

• Bulbs and corms should be planted in holes at a depth of roughly three times their size. You can use a bulb planting tool, thin trowel, or hori hori knife.
• For a sprightly early spring display, mix scented daffodils with crocuses and lovely azure muscari, then scatter them over the soil and plant them where they fall for a naturalistic placement.
• To keep your garden blooming from April to June, add a selection of allium bulbs together with ranunculus, anemone and other types of corms.

Finally, to keep their roots from rotting, drop a small handful of gravel into each planting hole before laying in the bulb or corm, then replace the soil for the perfect ritual of hope and renewal.

WOO THE WINTER WILDLIFE

While you're preparing your garden for winter and spring, don’t forget your feathered friends and other wild creatures who have made their home there over summer.

• Hang some squirrel-proof feeders to help your garden birds through the coldest months when food is scarce. Use RSPB-recommended mixes to help them stay healthy.
• Make a pile of dry sticks and stalks for overwintering insects to hole up in. You can buy stylish bug hotels and bee bricks to help your pollinators stay safe, warm and dry.
• If you’re lucky enough to have a hedgehog in your garden, they need warm leaf piles to hibernate in. And remember - no fires before you’ve checked for a prickly pal.

Gardens are evermore important in the battle against extinctions, and looking after the animals isn’t only good for biodiversity; it's also a source of joy as you watch the wildlife flourish from your window.

PRIME YOUR POTS TO POP

Pots deserve a section all to themselves because they elevate anywhere you can safely put them, from gardens, balconies, and terraces, to front doors, window boxes and paths.

• Pots stuffed with different varieties of tulips will give you flowers from the end of March to the end of May and dazzle before they bloom with their fresh green foliage.
• Make charming window boxes with tete-a-tete daffodils, crocuses, primroses or cowslips for a cheery welcome home and a lovely view outside while you're cosy indoors.
• For a pot of blooms that flower at different times, try ‘lasagne planting’ with bulbs by laying the biggest at the bottom and the smallest on top for a display that lasts for months.

Pots are truly your secret weapon for a stunning garden. Easily moved and replanted for each season, the containers provide some stylish design, while the contents burst with blooming botanical beauty.

Are you ready for some October gardening?

With an autumn haircut, some shopping and planting, and a show of love for visiting wildlife, you might just find that winter into spring becomes one of your favourite times of year.

And if you are planning to sell in spring, why not explore whether any little jobs could add thousands to your sale price? Call us on 01722 580059 or message us at info@piccoloproperty.co.uk to make the best move.