Is winter a good time to clear an overgrown garden?

Why is winter a good time to clear an overgrown garden?

Winter clearance works because the garden is at its most visible and its quietest. Once the leaves have dropped and brambles and nettles have died back, you can see boundaries, old fences and the shape of the ground. Most birds have not started nesting, and a cleared garden has time to settle before the spring growth.

In summer an overgrown corner hides a lot: bramble over old wire, ivy over posts, nettles over uneven ground. By December most of that soft growth has gone back, so whoever is clearing can see what is underneath and plan the job rather than finding out halfway through.

Timing matters for birds too. The RSPB describes March to September as the main nesting season and recommends cutting hedges and other vegetation between 1 September and 28 February. Somerset Council's guidance also strongly recommends doing vegetation work outside the nesting season.

One of our garden tidy-ups: long grass and shaggy edges before, cut and tidied after.

Is it legal to clear a garden in winter if birds are about?

Yes, clearing a garden is legal at any time of year, but damaging an active nest is not. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 a nest is protected while it is in use or being built, whatever the month. Some birds start early in January or February, so look before you cut.

The RSPB suggests three checks before cutting, and they work just as well for a clearance:

• Watch the area for a few days. Birds going in and out all day is the sign of a nest; birds that only arrive at dusk are probably just roosting.
• Look through the hedge, shrub or bramble thicket before cutting it.
• Use hand tools near anything you are unsure about, because they are easier to stop.

Somerset Council asks anyone who sees nesting birds being disturbed to call Avon and Somerset Police on 101 and ask for the Wildlife Crime Officer.

What should you leave for wildlife when you clear a garden?

Clearing an overgrown patch doesn't mean stripping the whole garden bare. The RSPB's winter advice is to leave leaf litter under hedges and shrubs, keep some seed heads standing, and stack larger branches into a log pile. These give insects, birds and hedgehogs shelter and food through the cold months.

• Leaves: rake them off the lawn and sweep them under hedges and shrubs rather than bagging them all.
• Seed heads: teasels, grasses and similar stems feed goldfinches and sparrows.
• Wood: stack larger branches in a corner. The RSPB says robins and blackbirds may even nest in a log pile in spring.
• Ivy: the RSPB rates its late flowers, berries and evergreen cover highly. Cut it off fences and paths if you need to, but leave some.

Hedgehogs are the main thing to watch for in a winter clearance. They shelter in leaf and wood piles, so check long grass, bramble bases and old heaps by hand before strimming or moving them.

What do you do with the cuttings after a garden clearance?

A clearance in Somerset leaves a lot of green waste, and burning it is not the answer. You can compost it on site, use Somerset Council's fortnightly garden waste collection, take it to one of the county's recycling sites, or pay a registered waste carrier to take it. Decide which before the job starts.

The same code says a carrier's registration number starts with CBDU, and you can look it up on the Environment Agency's public register by number, business name or postcode.

How does wet winter ground in Somerset change a clearance job?

Wet ground is the main limit on winter clearance in Somerset. Heavy clay on the Levels around Wedmore, Mark and Rooksbridge holds water for weeks after rain, and boots and barrows churn it into ruts. On Mendip-edge gardens the slopes get slippery. Pick drier spells and keep heavy loads off soft lawns.

None of this stops a clearance; it changes the order of work. Cutting back can go ahead in most weather. Moving cut material across a sodden lawn is what does the damage, so stack cuttings near where they were cut and move them once the ground firms up.

What should you ask a garden clearance contractor?

Before booking a clearance, ask what is included, where the cuttings will go, whether the contractor is insured, and how they handle nests and wildlife. If they offer to remove the waste, ask for their waste carrier number. If the job involves trees, ask whether that is work they actually do.

What affects the cost of a clearance is mostly the size of the area, how dense and woody the growth is, how easy the access is, and what happens to the cuttings afterwards. Photos of the whole area, with a gate or path for scale, help.

Japanese knotweed needs its own note. Government guidance says a new plant can grow from a piece of root as small as 1cm, and that you can be prosecuted for causing it to spread into the wild. If you think you have it, don't strim or dig it; the same guidance says to use a specialist.