Autumn is a useful time to clear leaves, care for lawns and prepare plants for colder weather. Use this autumn garden checklist for Norfolk from September onwards, choosing tasks to suit your plants, soil and local conditions. Dates are a guide: weather and the condition of your own garden determine when it is practical to work.
1. Clear Fallen Leaves
This is the big one. Norfolk's mature trees — particularly the oaks, beeches, and chestnuts found across Eaton, Thorpe St Andrew, and the surrounding villages — produce enormous volumes of leaves from mid-October through November.
Left on the lawn, leaves block light and trap moisture, encouraging moss and fungal disease. On paths and patios, they become slippery and dangerous. On borders, a light mulch of leaves is beneficial, but thick layers smother plants and harbour pests.
What to do: Rake or blow leaves off lawns weekly during peak fall. Collect them in black bin bags, puncture a few holes, add a splash of water, and stack them in a corner. In 12-18 months, you'll have beautiful leaf mould — the best soil conditioner money can't buy. If the volume is overwhelming, our leaf removal service handles the collection and disposal for you.
🌿 Pro Tip
Oak, beech and hornbeam leaves make good leafmould. Thicker walnut and chestnut leaves break down more slowly, so shred them before adding them to the pile. See the RHS leafmould guide.
2. Adjust Mowing to Growth and Conditions
There is no fixed date for the final mow. Reduce mowing as growth slows; in a mild autumn or winter, grass may still need an occasional light cut on a high setting. Mow only when the grass is dry and the ground is firm enough. Avoid wet, very soft or frozen ground and spells of cold, drying wind. The RHS mowing guide bases mowing on growth and conditions, including occasional winter cuts when needed.
Plan scarifying and aeration for September or October when conditions allow the lawn to recover, and only tackle the tasks it needs. An autumn feed is optional for a lawn that needs a boost, rather than a routine requirement. See RHS autumn lawn care and our seasonal lawn mowing guide for more detail.
3. Plant Spring-Flowering Bulbs
Choose the planting time for each bulb. The RHS bulb-planting guide recommends planting daffodils, crocuses and hyacinths preferably by the end of September, and tulips in November. Alliums are generally planted in September or October. Check the variety’s instructions and your bed’s drainage; soil conditions vary between gardens. Snowdrops can also be planted “in the green” after flowering.
Planting depth: Most bulbs are planted at two to three times their own height, with the nose pointing upwards. For a 5cm bulb, that means a hole roughly 10–15cm deep. Follow the variety’s instructions where they differ. Plant in groups for a natural effect, allowing enough space for the bulbs to grow.
4. Protect Tender Plants
Norfolk's winters are relatively mild compared to northern England, but we do get sharp frosts — particularly in January and February, and especially inland around Dereham and Wymondham where cold air settles in valleys.
Plants that need protection include:
- Dahlias and cannas — plan suitable frost protection, lifting and storing frost-free where needed, or mulching plants left in suitable ground. Check the plant’s overwintering requirements for your site.
- Penstemons — hardiness varies by cultivar. Hardy types may stay outside; cuttings of more tender cultivars can be overwintered in a greenhouse or cold frame. They should not be treated as tubers to lift. See the RHS penstemon guide.
- Tender evergreens (olive trees, bay trees, palms) — wrap in horticultural fleece during cold snaps. Move potted specimens to sheltered positions against a south-facing wall.
- Newly planted shrubs and trees — a thick mulch of bark or compost around the base insulates roots. See our tree planting guide for more aftercare advice.
- Container plants — group pots together against the house for warmth. Stand them on "feet" or bricks to prevent waterlogging.
🌿 Pro Tip
Bubble wrap is a surprisingly effective insulator for pots. Wrap the outside of terracotta and ceramic containers to prevent them cracking in frost — the pot itself is often more vulnerable than the plant inside it.
5. Clean Gutters and Drains
Strictly speaking this is home maintenance rather than gardening, but it affects your garden directly. Blocked gutters overflow, sending cascades of water onto borders below and causing waterlogging. Blocked drains flood paths and lawns. After the main leaf fall in November, clear all gutters, downpipes, and ground-level drains.
If your property is surrounded by mature trees — common in established areas of Norwich like Sprowston and the Golden Triangle — you may need to do this twice: once in mid-November and again in December after the last leaves have fallen.
6. Store Garden Furniture and Equipment
Wooden furniture left out all winter rots, warps, and develops algae. Metal furniture rusts. Even "weatherproof" rattan deteriorates faster than manufacturers claim. Clean all furniture thoroughly, let it dry completely, then store under cover. If you don't have shed or garage space, invest in proper breathable furniture covers — the cheap non-breathable ones trap moisture and make things worse.
Service your lawnmower now too: clean the deck, sharpen the blade, change the oil (petrol models), and charge the battery fully (electric models). It's far easier to do this in October than to discover a dead mower in March when you need it.
7. Composting — Turn Autumn Waste Into Gold
Autumn generates more compostable material than any other season: spent plants, prunings, leaves, grass clippings, and old bedding plants. If you don't already have a compost bin, autumn is the perfect time to start. Homemade compost adds organic matter to garden soil and puts suitable plant waste to use. If your garden has accumulated years of debris, a professional garden clearance in autumn gives you a clean canvas for composting the fresh material properly.
For effective composting, aim for a mix of "greens" (nitrogen-rich) — grass clippings, vegetable scraps, annual weeds — and "browns" (carbon-rich) — cardboard, dry leaves, woody prunings. The ideal ratio is roughly 50:50. Turn the heap every few weeks to aerate it, and in 6-12 months you'll have rich, crumbly compost that transforms your soil.
8. Prune — But Know What to Cut
Autumn pruning is essential, but pruning the wrong plants at the wrong time is one of the most common gardening mistakes. Here's a quick guide:
- DO prune in autumn: Deciduous hedges (for a final tidy), rambling roses (after flowering), perennials that have died back, and any dead, diseased, or damaged branches on trees and shrubs.
- DON'T prune in autumn: Spring-flowering shrubs (forsythia, philadelphus, weigela) — you'd cut off next year's flower buds. Wait until immediately after flowering. Most clematis varieties are best left until February-March.
- Be careful with: Hydrangeas — dead heads actually protect the flower buds beneath from frost. Leave them until spring in Norfolk, where late frosts can catch you out into April.
If you're unsure about any pruning, our hedge trimming and tree surgery professionals can advise and handle the work safely.
🌿 Pro Tip
Always clean secateurs and loppers with disinfectant between plants to prevent spreading disease. This is particularly important when pruning roses, which are susceptible to black spot and rust.
9. Winterise Water Features and Ponds
If you have a garden pond, stretch netting across the surface to catch fallen leaves — decomposing leaves in water release toxic gases that harm fish and wildlife. Remove the netting and leaves regularly.
For formal water features and fountains, drain pumps and pipework before the first frost to prevent cracking. Store pumps in a bucket of water in a frost-free shed — this keeps the seals from drying out. If you have fish, make sure at least part of the pond surface stays ice-free during winter by using a floating pond heater or placing a tennis ball on the surface to create a breathing hole.
Your Complete Autumn Checklist
Here's everything at a glance:
- ✅ Clear fallen leaves weekly from lawns, paths, and patios
- ✅ Mow only while grass is growing and conditions are dry, firm and frost-free
- ✅ Assess scarifying and aeration in September–October; feed only if needed
- ✅ Plant bulbs at the right time for each variety; tulips can wait until November
- ✅ Protect tender plants with fleece, mulch, or by bringing indoors
- ✅ Clean gutters and drains after leaf fall
- ✅ Clean and store garden furniture
- ✅ Service the lawnmower
- ✅ Start or add to compost bins
- ✅ Prune dead and diseased growth (but leave spring-flowering shrubs)
- ✅ Winterise ponds and water features
- ✅ Plant bare-root trees and shrubs from November
- ✅ Divide overcrowded perennials
- ✅ Tidy greenhouse, insulate with bubble wrap if needed
Work through suitable tasks from September to November, adjusting the timing to your plants and the weather. Whether you're managing a compact plot in Norwich city centre, a large garden in Drayton, or a new-build plot in Hethersett, every garden benefits from proper autumn preparation. If the list feels overwhelming, our garden maintenance service can handle the entire autumn tidy-up for you — it's the hardest-working season in the gardener's year, and the most rewarding when spring arrives.