Start with the leaves

There is a particular pleasure in a crisp October morning: the smell of damp earth, the low slant of light, and a garden quietly closing down for the year. Autumn is not the end of the growing season so much as the bridge to the next one, and the jobs you do now — clearing, planting, mulching — make the difference between a garden that muddles through winter and one that bursts into life in March.

Begin with fallen leaves. Left in thick, wet layers on a lawn, they smother the grass beneath and encourage fungal problems, so rake little and often rather than waiting for the last leaf to drop. But don't treat them as rubbish. Perforate a few old compost sacks, stuff them with damp leaves, tie the tops and tuck them behind a shed for a year or two. The dark, crumbly leaf mould inside is superb for mulching woodland plants and for sowing seeds. Oak and beech take longer to break down; sycamore and horse chestnut are quicker. Keep one open pile in a quiet corner, too — hedgehogs, frogs and beetles will use it as shelter through the coldest months.

Plant spring bulbs while the soil is still warm

Bulbs need time to put down roots before the ground cools completely, so aim to finish planting daffodils, crocus and alliums by the end of October, and tulips by mid-November. As a rule, plant each bulb at roughly three times its own depth; tulips benefit from going deeper still, about 20cm down, which helps them flower reliably for years rather than just one.

• Loosen the soil below where the bulb will sit so roots can push down easily.
• Add a handful of grit to the planting hole on heavy clay, and a little bone meal or bulb fertiliser.
• Layer a large pot — crocus near the surface, daffodils in the middle, tulips at the bottom — for a long succession of flowers.
• Lay chicken wire just beneath the soil surface over new plantings to deter squirrels digging them up.

Naturalised daffodils in rough grass are one of the great joys of spring, so scatter a handful and plant them where they land, then resist mowing that patch until the foliage has died back.

Mulch borders before the first frosts bite

A generous mulch is the single most useful thing you can give your soil in autumn. Spread 5–8cm of well-rotted manure, garden compost, leaf mould or bark over damp, unfrozen ground, and the earth below stays warmer and more evenly moist, worms work closer to the surface, and weeds struggle to germinate.

Keep the material a few centimetres clear of stems, crowns and tree trunks — piling it against them traps damp and invites rot. If you grow dahlias, either lift the tubers once the first frost blackens the foliage or leave them in place under a thick blanket of bark and leaf mould; in milder areas this often sees them through. Never mulch frozen or waterlogged soil, as you will simply seal in the cold and wet.

Cut back with restraint, not ruthlessness

Resist the urge to reduce everything to ground level. Seedheads on teasel, echinacea and sedum feed goldfinches well into winter, and hollow stems make handy overwintering quarters for insects. Remove what is diseased, slimy or floppy — hosta leaves, for instance — and compost only the healthy material.

Leave structural pruning until late winter. In autumn, simply take out dead, damaged or crossing branches, and tidy wayward growth on shrubs without cutting into old wood. Check any twiggy corners before you clear them: a quiet pile of stems may already have a resident.

Tidy the lawn, tools and greenhouse

Give the grass a final cut with the mower blades raised a notch or two, and stay off it when there is frost on the ground. Spike or aerate compacted areas, brush away worm casts, and apply an autumn lawn feed that is low in nitrogen and higher in phosphate and potash to encourage roots rather than soft growth.

• Clean, dry and oil hand tools before storing them; sharpen secateurs with a diamond file.
• Drain hosepipes and outdoor taps, and lag exposed pipes.
• Wash greenhouse glass inside and out so winter light gets through.
• Clear spent crops and fallen fruit, and ventilate the greenhouse on mild days.

Leave a corner for the wildlife

A perfectly tidy garden is a poor one for wildlife. Leave a few seedheads standing, let ivy flower for late bees, and keep a shallow dish of water topped up for birds. Clean feeders regularly, and always check a bonfire pile for hibernating hedgehogs before you put a match to it. Do the bulk of the tidying now, then let the garden rest — the rewards will arrive with the first snowdrops.