November has arrived and autumn will soon be making that harsher transition into winter. What can you be doing this week outside in your garden to start making it winter-proof?

1 - Cut the grass if the weather remains warm and dry, and trim the

edges.

2 - Cut down all dead flower stems on herbaceous perennials and tidy

borders to remove foliage and plant remains, compost this material.

Leave late-flowering perennials.

3 - Sow a row of hardy peas and cover with cloches. Broad beans can also

be sown now.

4 - Remove old vegetable crops, clear the ground and dig compost or

manure into the soil. Leave heavy soil rough-dug so frost can penetrate

to help break it down.

5 - Lift dahlia tubers when the foliage has been blackened by frost.

6 - Rake and scarify lawns to remove thatch and other debris.

7 - Bring potted late-flowering chrysanthemums under glass before frost

strikes.

8 - Throw a net over a branch bearing holly berries to stop the birds

pecking at them.

9 - Wrap grease bands around the trunks of apple, plum and cherry trees

to catch the winter moth as she climbs to lay her eggs.

10 - Continue to take hardwood cuttings of roses and shrubs like cornus,

buddleia and ribes.