Flowers

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• Plant drifts of spring bulbs informally in a lawn, including crocuses, daffodils and fritillaries

• Lift tender cannas to avoid frost damage, dry off the tubers and store in cool dark conditions until spring

• Plant up cheery pot displays with winter colour, such as heathers, cyclamen, winter pansies and skimmia. More winter container inspiration.

• Lift and pot up tender perennials, such as chocolate cosmos, gazanias and coleus, to protect over winter

• Plant evergreen shrubs and conifer hedges while the soil is still warm

• Remove any pot saucers and raise pots up onto feet to prevent waterlogging over winter

• Move deciduous shrubs that are in the wrong place or have outgrown their current position

• Wrap layers of fleece or straw around banana plants and tree ferns to protect from winter frosts

• Collect seeds from hardy perennials, such as astrantia, achillea and red valerian, and sow straight away

• Take hardwood cuttings from ornamental trees and shrubs

• Reduce the height of shrub roses to avoid windrock damage over winter

• Empty spent summer pots and hanging baskets, and compost the contents

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Fruit and veg

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• Take cuttings of shrubby herbs, such as rosemary, lemon verbena and thyme

• Remove large fruits on fig trees that have failed to ripen, leaving pea-sized fruits to develop for harvesting next year

• Sow green manure, such as winter rye, rather than leaving soil bare over winter

• Cover salad plants with cloches to prolong cropping

• Keep sowing batches of hardy broad beans and peas outdoors for early crops next year

• Plant garlic cloves in a sunny well-drained spot, 15cm apart, with their tip 5cm below the surface

• Finish picking runner beans and French beans, but leave a few pods to ripen fully, so you can save the seeds

• Cut down the ferny shoots of asparagus to soil level once they've turned yellow, then add to the compost bin

• Divide large clumps of herbs, such as chives, lemon balm and marjoram, then replant or share with friends

• Wrap grease bands around the trunks of apple, pear, cherry and plum trees to trap the crawling female winter moth

• Clear away old crops, so they can't harbour pests and diseases on the veg plot through the winter

• Cut fruited stems of blackberries and autumn raspberries down to the ground

• Raise pumpkins and squash onto bricks to keep them dry and expose them to more sun, to ripen the skins

• Order bare-root fruit trees and bushes for planting from late autumn to early spring

• Plant out spring cabbages

• Raise pumpkins and squash onto bricks to keep them dry and expose them to more sun, to ripen the skins

• Order bare-root fruit trees and bushes for planting from late autumn to early spring

• Plant out spring cabbages

Greenhouse

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• Clean out the greenhouse to get rid of debris that can harbour overwintering pests and diseases

• Wash greenhouse glazing to let in as much of the weaker autumn daylight as possible

• Bring potted tropical plants inside, including bananas, pineapple lilies (eucomis) and brugmansias

• Plant hippeastrum (amaryllis) bulbs in pots on a warm windowsill for flowers by Christmas

• Move potted citrus plants and fuchsias inside over winter, keeping them cool but frost free

• Sow quick-growing microgreens for nutrient-rich pickings in just a few weeks, here's 10 microgreens to grow

• Line greenhouse glazing with bubble insulation, as night-time temperatures start to drop

• Keep indoor azaleas constantly moist, ideally using rainwater

• Pot up the roots of lily-of-the-valley to provide fragrant winter flowers indoors

• Water plants more sparingly as conditions turn cooler and the days get shorter

• Sow sweet peas in deep pots for early flowers next summer

• Force narcissus bulbs for fragrant indoor blooms in about 10 weeks

• Spread out harvested onions and garlic on greenhouse staging to dry thoroughly before storing

• Inspect plants you bring into the greenhouse over winter for any pests and diseases

• Attach guttering to the greenhouse and install a water butt, to make good use of autumn rain

• Clear fallen leaves from greenhouse guttering to ensure water butts fill up

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Garden maintenance

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• Rake up fallen leaves from lawns, borders, driveways and paths, and store in a leaf mould bin to rot down into leaf mould

• Build a log pile at the back of a border for wildlife to shelter in

• Check that your shed is secure and waterproof, so you can safely store tools and patio furniture in it over winter

• Apply an autumn lawn feed to revive the grass after the rigours of summer

• Give your pond some autumn maintenance, including removing barley straw, placed in the pond in spring to discourage algae, once it has turned black

• Empty ceramic and glazed pots that aren't frost proof and store in a shed over winter

• Spike compacted lawns and brush grit into the holes to improve drainage

• Fork up perennial weeds, including horsetail or bindweed, removing every bit of root

• Cut autumn-fruiting raspberries down to the ground after harvesting

• Collect up hoses and drip-feed systems and store indoors over winter, so they don't freeze and split

• Clean out and disinfect bird boxes

• Gather up canes and plant supports that are no longer in use, and store indoors over winter

• Go on regular snail hunts, especially on damp evenings, to reduce overwintering populations

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