Preparing a cottage garden for winter weather

A gentler end to the growing year

Cottage gardens are forgiving places. They forgive a wobbly edge, a self-sown foxglove in the gravel path, a rose that leans where it shouldn't. But they are not indestructible. The soft, blowsy planting that makes a cottage border so appealing in July is often the very thing that suffers most when the first proper gales arrive in October. A little work now, while the ground is still warm and the light is still decent, saves a great deal of scrambling in February.

The aim is not to strip everything back to bare earth. It is to put the garden to bed in a way that protects what matters, improves the soil, and leaves you with a clean slate rather than a soggy mess to untangle when spring finally turns up.

Lift tender bulbs and tubers before the frost bites

Dahlias, gladioli, crocosmia and agapanthus will all sulk, rot or vanish entirely if left in cold, wet ground over winter. Wait until the first light frost blackens the foliage — this signals the plant has stopped growing and begun to store energy in its tubers — then lift carefully with a fork, working well clear of the crown to avoid spearing anything precious.

• Shake off excess soil but don't wash it. Damp tubers store badly.
• Cut stems back to about 10cm and leave the tubers upside down somewhere airy for a fortnight so any moisture drains away from the crown.
• Store in crates or paper bags of dry compost, vermiculite or even shredded newspaper, somewhere frost-free but cool — a shed, garage or unheated porch is ideal.
• Label everything. Every stored tuber looks identical by January.

Begonias, eucomis and nerines deserve the same treatment. If you garden on heavy clay, even supposedly hardy bulbs such as tulips and alliums will appreciate being lifted and replanted in autumn into gritted, free-draining pockets.

Mulch hungry borders while the soil is still warm

A cottage border is a hungry border. All those generous flowers, repeated planting and dense roots strip nutrients quickly, and winter rain leaches away what remains. Mulching now, while the ground still holds some warmth, gives worms and soil life time to work the organic matter down before the cold sets in.

Spread a 5–8cm layer of well-rotted manure, garden compost or leaf mould across bare soil, keeping it clear of stems, crowns and the necks of shrubs. Piling mulch against a stem is the quickest way to encourage rot. For roses, clematis and other heavy feeders, a generous mulch of composted bark mixed with a handful of blood, fish and bone will carry them through to spring.

Don't mulch over soggy, waterlogged ground — you will only seal in the problem. Wait for a dry spell and fork over the surface gently first.

Check drainage before the heavy rain arrives

Nothing kills cottage plants faster than sitting in cold, wet soil through January and February. Before the worst of the rain, walk the garden after a downpour and note where water pools.

• Clear gutters, downpipes and gullies on sheds, greenhouses and outbuildings.
• Empty and store water butts that have cracked, and check taps and overflows are clear.
• Fork gypsum or coarse grit into heavy clay borders, or add a shallow drainage channel along the lowest edge.
• Raise pots onto feet or bricks so they never stand in a saucer of standing water.

If a border floods every year, consider lifting prized plants into a temporary raised bed for the winter rather than losing them. It is far less work than replacing them.

Tidy stakes, pots and tools properly

Winter tidying is as much about next spring as this one. Bamboo canes, metal stakes and plant supports should be pulled, brushed clean, and tied into bundles stored somewhere dry. Wooden stakes benefit from a wipe with linseed oil; metal ones from a quick rub with an oily rag to see off rust.

Terracotta and glazed pots should be emptied, scrubbed and stacked under cover — frost will shatter a wet terracotta pot in a single hard night. Plastic pots can be washed in diluted vinegar and stacked by size. Sharpen secateurs, hoes and shears now, oil the moving parts, and hang them where you can find them in March. A clean, sharp tool makes light work of spring pruning, and you will thank yourself for the half hour spent on it.

Leave a little wildness for the wildlife

Resist the urge to cut everything to the ground. Seedheads on teasels, sedums, echinacea and honesty feed goldfinches and tits through the lean months, while hollow stems and leaf litter shelter overwintering insects, hedgehogs and frogs. A cottage garden that gives a little back to its creatures is a healthier, more balanced garden all year round.

So leave the last of the structure standing, mulch what needs feeding, lift what cannot take the wet, and let the rest rest. Come February, you will be starting from clean ground, sharp tools and a garden that has quietly looked after itself.