A professionally designed and planted garden is an investment. However like any investment, it requires ongoing care and attention so that it looks great all year round. Understanding what good garden maintenance involves is the first step towards keeping your garden looking exactly as it was designed to look. There is no such thing as a ‘no maintenance’ garden!
So what does good garden aftercare actually involve? What are the key seasonal tasks that keep your garden performing at its best? And how do you care and get the most from your professionally designed outdoor space?
Why Aftercare Matters as Much as Design
The first three years after planting are the most critical period in a garden’s life. This period will determine how well your garden settles, how the planting establishes, and how the whole space performs long term. If you get this stage right, and your garden matures exactly as intended. However if you leave it to chance, small issues can quietly become bigger problems.
You’ve invested in a beautifully designed garden. The build is complete and everything looks great. However it’s tempting to think the hard work is all done. Your dream garden is only just getting started. In reality it’s the start of what’s known as the establishment period.
In the establishment period different elements of your dream garden are changing. Plants are adjusting to their new home with roots developing below ground. The soil structure and ecology is settling in the borders. And hard landscaping such as paving is bedding in. A garden is a living thing and without proper maintenance and guidance it’s easy for things to drift so that your outdoor space does not reach its full potential.
Aberdeenshire’s climate creates specific aftercare demands that differ from gardens further south. Our climate in North East Scotland tends to be colder and drier than other parts of Scotland. Frost can still affect plants into early June so this needs to be borne in mind when doing spring tidy ups.
Seasonal Aftercare: What Your Garden Needs and When
Spring
Spring is the most important season for garden maintenance in Aberdeenshire, and timing is everything. Cut back deciduous ornamental grasses and dead perennial stems down to ground level in late spring before fresh green shoots appear. This means that top growth left on plants over the winter and early spring will protect your plants. Trim formal structural hedges (such as beech or yew) once or twice a year outside of the main UK bird nesting season, which runs from March through to August.
Summer
Summer maintenance in an Aberdeenshire garden is generally less demanding than in warmer climates with blooms lasting longer due to the cooler weather. It’s important to keep deadheading perennial plants to ensure colour throughout the summer months.
Autumn
Autumn is a season of transition and preparation. The key tasks at this time of year are to plant spring bulbs such as daffodils and crocuses in the ground from September to October. Tulips should be planted in November as they need a colder period to produce the best flowers in spring. Autumn is also all about lawn care maintenance. This includes scarifying and feeding your lawn for next spring. Mulching bare soil in borders with a 5-7 cm layer of well-rotted compost or bark to protect roots of winter. Above all resist the temptation to be too neat in your garden at this time of year by cutting back perennials and ornamental grasses. The top growth on these will protect the plants and create habitats for hibernating insects. Seed heads of some plants can also put on a spectacular display during the autumn and winter months.
Winter
A well-designed garden should have enough structural interest to remain visually appealing through the winter months. This is where evergreen planting is key. Essential winter garden tasks in North East Scotland include protecting plants from frost or snow damage and winter pruning. Wrap any tender plants such as tree ferns in horticultural fleece. Raise decorative containers onto pot to stop waterlogging. Prune fruit trees and overgrown shrubs whilst they are dormant and reduce the height of tall shrubs such as buddleia to stop wind-rock damage.
The Key Principles of Good Garden Maintenance
> Watering and Establishment: Water newly planted structural trees, shrubs, and perennials thoroughly 2 to 3 times a week at the base during their first growing season rather than giving light daily splashes. Reduce or halt manual irrigation during prolonged wet spells, ensuring roots never sit in waterlogged, compacted soil.
> Weed Early and Often: It’s best to get on top of weeding as soon as the soil starts to warm up. Ensure you use a hoe or garden fork to remove weeds which are shallowly rooted. For longer rooted weeds such as docks, use a weeding knife which will help you dig down into the border and remove the whole root. After that ‘little and often’ is the best way to keep on top of weeds.
> Feed the Soil, Not Just the Plants:
Apply a 50mm to 75mm layer of well-rotted organic compost or bark chippings around plant bases in early spring or late autumn to lock in moisture and suppress unwanted growth. Most established garden shrubs in borders do not need heavy feeding but a light sprinkling of blood, fish and bone in early spring which is hoed in before mulching does help.
> Prune With Purpose: Different plants require different pruning regimes at various times of year. If you are not sure and have not received a maintenance plan from your designer then research the plant online to find out pruning advice. But remember that most reputable garden websites are often based in South East England. North East Scotland can be at least a month behind so add 4-6 weeks to any advice you find.
> Observe and Respond: Keep an eye on planting in the first 2 years and watch out for signs of stress. This could be yellowing leaves, wilting plants or lack of flowers. It’s important to keep on top of watering in the establishment period as plants are still developing their roots.
> Caring for Hard Landscaping Features: Sweep natural stone or porcelain patios regularly and wash them gently annually to prevent slippery algae buildup without stripping joint pointing. Ask your landscaper on the best products to use for cleaning your patio and paving. Treat wooden raised beds, fences, or pergolas with an eco-friendly wood stain or preservative every 2 to 3 years during dry weather.
> Know When to Call a Professional: For problems with planting your first port of call should be your garden designer. They can offer expert knowledge on the plants in your garden. If they don’t know the answer they have a trusted relationship with the local nursery who supplied the plants and will ask them for their advice.
Hedge maintenance (especially at height) will require the talents of a professional gardener. Tree maintenance will need to be done by a tree surgeon or arborist who is accredited and insured.
For hard landscaping advice, it’s best to talk with the landscaper who built your garden. They can offer advice on products to use specific to the materials in your patio and paving.
Aftercare in Aberdeenshire: What Makes It Different
Maintaining a garden in Aberdeenshire requires an awareness of conditions that differ with other parts of the UK. Generally speaking gardens in North East Scotland are up to 4-6 weeks behind those in South East England. It’s also important to remember this when researching garden maintenance online. Even in Scotland we tend to have a cooler and drier climate in Aberdeenshire in comparison with the West Coast which is warmer due to the Gulf Stream.
Understanding these conditions is what makes the difference between a garden that merely survives and one that genuinely thrives in North East Scotland.
How Gerbera Designs Supports You Beyond the Design
Aftercare Guidance as Standard:
Gerbera Designs always provides a maintenance plan for the plants in your garden as part of their planting design service.
Regular Check-Ins:
Gerbera Designs is always at the end of the phone or email to help you with any queries after the garden has been completed. We also offer an annual visit to find out how you are getting on with your new garden.
Maintenance Advice Tailored to You:
Any maintenance advice is based specifically on the plants and conditions in your garden.
Connecting You With the Right People:
If we don’t know the answer to your query, we can find it out from our trusted network of garden professionals.
Keep Your Garden Looking Its Best Year-Round
A beautiful garden deserves care and maintenance to keep thriving. Book a consultation with Gerbera Designs knowing with confidence that you can maintain your dream outdoor space in the long-term.
