With winter around the corner, now is the ideal time to prepare your garden so that you can let your beds, borders and lawn take care of themselves until spring.

To ensure your garden survives the harshest weather you'll only need to spend a couple of hours of your weekend to make sure it's in tip top condition to spring back into life next year.

Beds and borders

• Start by taking out any annual flowers and then cut back perennials to just centimetres from the ground
• Leave in the seed heads of those perennials that attract wildlife and look beautiful sparkling under a layer of frost, such as sedum, achillea and monarda
• Remove any weeds that have been hidden under the foliage of the plants by hand. More stubborn roots may need a garden fork
• Rake over flower beds to remove fallen leaves and debris, taking care of any spring bulbs as their shoots will soon be seen pushing through the surface of the soil
• Cut back wall climbers
• Put all the debris in a compost bin
• Cover beds with about 5cm of mulch and rake level for a tidy appearance
• Trim border edges to leave them neat for the winter.

• Give your lawn one last cut before winter, but avoid cutting it back too hard which might leave it prone to damage by rain or extreme temperatures
• Take any garden furniture that might be damaged over winter and store it in the shed or garage
• Over a normal winter you shouldn't need to mow your lawn again now until February.

• Bring non-hardy plants into a greenhouse or insulate with horticultural fleece
• Cover ponds with netting to catch falling leaves that can pollute the water when they rot
• Float a plastic ball in the pond to reduce the risk of the surface freezing over
• Make sure you don't forget the birds in winter and regularly put out food for them.