You’re not alone in worrying about Storm Éowyn sweeping across the UK at the moment. After a shift in weather on Thursday, the storm brought wet and windy conditions during the early hours of yesterday, and it’s expected to linger for another day or two.
Whilst power outages, public transport disruptions and sleepless nights are major concerns, a damaged garden is also high on the list of storm-related worries. However, don’t panic – help is at hand. I've spoken to gardening expert and Managing Director of Hedges Direct, Jamie Shipley, who offered some valuable advice.
Jamie explains: “In extreme weather, no amount of preparation can fully withstand Mother Nature. However, there are some steps you can take to repair storm damage in your garden and tasks you can do now to reduce the risk of future damage before the next storm strikes.”
Keep reading to discover Jamie’s expert tips for protecting and restoring your garden.
1. Loosen waterlogged soil
If you the roots of your plants are waterlogged following a storm, loosen the soil and aerate it with a pitchfork to allow the water to drain away, being careful not to disrupt the roots.
2. Don’t remove fallen foliage
Although your first thought might be to remove any fallen leaves to tidy up your garden after a storm, the fallen foliage is actually a great heat insulator and will protect soil from becoming frozen in future cold snaps this winter.
Instead of removing the fallen leaves, rake them from your lawn and paved areas onto your flower beds. It’s a better idea to have a ‘spring clean’ once the weather warms up and clear away the leaves once they’re no longer needed. Wildlife also love leaf bundles as they can use them for nesting sites.
3. Remove any broken stems
Remove any snapped branches and stems from your shrubs to give you a clearer view of any problems that need to be attended to. Prune any branches that follow the four D’s (dead, diseased, damaged or dying) to the base to conserve the damaged plant’s energy.
Once you make the cut, you should be able to see the inside white flesh which indicates the healthy part of the stem. If the flesh isn’t white, keep cutting lower until you expose the healthy stem. New cuts are more susceptible to rot and disease, so seal the wound using a pruning seal. Apply liberally with a paintbrush over the cut to ensure the wood is fully protected.
4. Remove weeds
One of the benefits of windy and wet weather is that it can leave the soil in your garden soft, meaning it's easier to remove the complete root system when weeding. This means after a storm is the perfect time to remove weeds by hand, rather than using chemicals and potentially negatively affecting the soil biodiversity.
When hand weeding, the key is to remove each weed in its entirety. Hold the weed from the stem, pull and twist to gently remove the whole plant from the root system. Once weeded, you can put a mulch or bark chipps down which helps retain the moisture and nutrients in the soil but also keeps light out which helps to suppress future weed growth.
5. Plant hedges to prevent future wind damage
High winds seem to be becoming more frequent, so it’s a good idea to consider replacing any fences in your garden with a hedge. Planting a windbreak hedge is the most effective way to protect your garden against future strong winds, but it’s important to consider the best type of plant.
It's a good idea to stick with native plants which tend to be the most well-suited to the unique climate of a place and therefore better equipped to deal with extremes. Consider hardy plants like Elder, Hawthorn or English Yew. Large evergreen hedging plants such as Cherry Laurel, Privet or the conifer Leylandii make fantastic wind breaking hedges that display dense, attractive, green foliage providing year round cover.
Read these 7 expert-approved steps to protect your garden from stormy weather conditions next.
