Garden tasks you can do now for Christmas

It's easy to feel like Christmas is a long way away but the big day is just 1-2 months away and the start of the holiday season comes even sooner.

With that in mind, there are some garden tasks you can do now that will put you in good stead not only for November, but throughout the run-up to Christmas.

Here's our quick guide to gardening tasks for the  season.

Grow your own

If you want to be part of the 'grow your own' trend, why not plant potatoes? They're an important part of Christmas dinner for most families and growing them in your own garden is a great way to keep some spare on standby, even if you buy most of what you eat this Christmas.

Pots and planters are an excellent place to grow potatoes for an easy harvest. Potatoes planted in August can be ready for Christmas if you keep them in a sunny porch, or in a conservatory or greenhouse where they are protected against any chance of frost.

Winter pansies

You can plant winter pansies throughout the early autumn and even into the winter, although when they flower will depend on exactly when you plant them, as well as on the weather conditions they get while growing.

In any case, they add a splash of colour to the garden during the often drab winter months, as well as filling in flowerbeds to provide a backdrop for any Christmas garden ornaments or outdoor Christmas lights you decide to put up.

Garden lighting

More and more households choose to put up Christmas garden lighting with twinkling or flashing coloured bulbs.

You could even string up some outdoor Xmas lights in the autumn, as you can start enjoying them as soon as the evenings draw in.

LED battery lights are often equipped with an automatic timer function that will turn them off after a few hours, helping to conserve battery power so they're still going strong when the holiday season arrives.

It's also a good time to give a late season clean to any outdoor lighting you already have installed, ensuring that solar garden lighting is still getting a good amount of power and that bulbs are cleaned and replaced so you get the right amount of illumination.

Outdoor Xmas trees

Finally, start thinking about any outdoor Xmas trees you plan to put up, as they might need a bit of planning to create space for them or to lay a firm base for them to stand on.

Pre lit outdoor Xmas trees are a convenient way to add seasonal colour and decoration to the garden, coming complete with LED lights so you don't need to worry about stringing them up yourself.

Even if you don't want to put them up just yet, autumn gives you the last longer days to get the garden into good order.

That way when Christmas comes, there'll be less to do - so you can put up your outdoor Xmas trees for some festive fun with less of the festive fuss.