After a wet and windy week in Worcester, the forecast shows a settled spell from today, with little or no rain due for the whole of the coming week. That makes this the best chance for a while to get lawns, hedges and edges ready for the winter, before the ground softens again and growth stops.
None of these jobs is complicated. What matters is doing them in the right order and on the right days, so the grass, the hedges and the wildlife that shelters in them all come through to spring in good shape.
Let the ground firm up first
The last week brought 21.1 mm of rain, so lawns will still be soft in places this morning, above all on clay, in shade and at the bottom of a slope. Walking or mowing on soft, waterlogged ground compacts the soil and damages the roots, and the marks can last all winter.
Give it a day or two of dry weather before any heavy work. A simple test is to walk across the lawn: if your shoes sink or water rises around them, leave it. If the surface feels firm and springs back, it is ready.
The last cuts of the year
Grass keeps growing while the soil stays above roughly 6 to 8°C. The forecast shows the soil near Worcester cooling from about 10°C today to under 9°C by early next week, so growth is slowing but has not stopped. That means one or two more cuts may still be worth doing before winter.
- Raise the cutting height. Slightly longer grass copes better with cold, wet and shade through the winter.
- Never take off more than a third of the height in one go. If the lawn has got long during the wet spell, bring it down over two cuts a few days apart.
- Only mow when the grass is dry. Wet blades tear rather than cut, and the clippings clump on the surface.
- Keep the blades sharp. A clean cut heals quickly, while torn tips turn brown and ragged.
- Use the collector. It picks up light leaf fall and chops it in the same pass.
Clear the leaves before they do harm
The recent strong winds brought plenty of leaves down. Left lying on a lawn, they block the light and hold moisture, and after a week or two the grass underneath turns yellow and weak. Moss and disease move in after that. Fusarium patch, which shows up as yellow or brown patches in mild, damp weather, is worse where leaves or long wet grass lie on the lawn.
Heavy fall needs raking or blowing off first. The leaves are worth keeping: piled or bagged and left to rot for a year or two, they make good leaf mould. On paths, steps and car parks, wet leaves are slippery, so on school, care home, church and business grounds, regular clearing is part of keeping the site safe through the winter.
Hedges, edges and the wildlife in them
Pick a calm, dry day for a hedge trim: the finish is cleaner and the clippings are easier to clear. A formal hedge of privet, beech, hornbeam, yew or laurel trimmed now stays neat right through to spring. Native and wildlife hedges are often left until late winter, so their berries can feed birds through the colder months.
Whatever the hedge, check it for nests that are still in use before cutting, because the law protects an active wild bird nest all year round. Hedgehogs start to hibernate from about November, often in leaf piles, log piles, compost heaps and under hedges. Check long grass, hedge bottoms and piles before strimming or clearing them, and check any bonfire pile carefully before lighting it.
Tidy edges and strim banks and rough ground while it is dry, but there is no need to clear every corner. A strip of long grass along a hedge gives insects and other wildlife somewhere to spend the winter, and ivy flowering late in the year is an important source of nectar.
Need a hand before winter?
We cut lawns on a one-off or regular schedule, from gardens to communal lawns and large open sites. We trim hedges, from front gardens to long boundary runs, with the clippings taken away, and we strim banks, edges and rough ground.
For commercial sites, apartment blocks, churchyards and parish councils, we offer grounds maintenance contracts with regular scheduled visits.
WhatsApp Tom a photo and your postcode on 07792 110915 and Tom will come back with a price.
