Seasonal garden maintenance in Horley

Jobs timed to how Horley’s clay behaves in spring, summer, autumn and a wet winter.

Seasonal garden maintenance in Horley runs on the clay calendar. The soil warms slowly in spring, bakes hard in late summer and stays waterlogged for much of winter. Each of those changes what can be done and when. Get the timing right and a garden mostly looks after itself between visits. Get it wrong and you’re fighting the ground.

On a regular schedule, the seasonal jobs are built in at no extra charge, so they happen at the right moment without you booking anything. They’re available as one-offs too, if you’d rather handle the rest yourself. Either way, the waste goes with us.

Seasonal garden maintenance starts late on clay

On light sandy soil you can be cutting and planting in early March. In Horley we usually wait. Clay stays cold and wet for longer, and walking on it then squashes the structure out of it. So spring here starts with jobs that don’t need the ground: cutting back last year’s perennials and grasses, pruning late-flowering shrubs, and mulching beds before the weeds wake up. The first lawn cut comes when the soil can take it, which is often April.

Summer is about keeping up. Mowing goes higher as the clay dries out, borders get deadheaded, and lighter hedge trims happen once we’ve checked for nests.

Leaf clearance and the autumn garden tidy-up

Autumn is the busy season. Leaves come first, and on a clay lawn they need moving quickly because they hold wet against the grass. Then the main hedge cuts, now that nesting has finished. Then an autumn tidy-up of the borders: cutting back, lifting and dividing, and a fresh layer of mulch to protect the soil over winter. Winter itself is for rose pruning and renovating overgrown hedges while they’re dormant.

Seasonal Services in Horley: your questions

Anything else, just ring. You’ll speak to the people who do the work.

When should I get my Horley garden ready for spring?

Late February into March for pruning and mulching. Hold off on lawn work and digging until the clay has dried enough that it doesn’t stick to your boots.

How often do you do leaf clearance?

Through October and November, usually every visit or every other one depending on the trees around you. A garden with big trees overhanging it will need more.

Do I need to book seasonal jobs separately?

Not if you’re on a regular visit, because they’re already built in. If you’re not, we’ll quote each one as a one-off.

Why do some jobs only happen in winter?

Big hedge reductions and shrub renovations are kinder to the plant when it’s dormant, and the birds have finished nesting. On Horley clay we pick dry or frosty-but-firm days for them, so we’re not churning up soft ground underfoot.