Gardener's World star warns to skip one outdoor task this autumn that is a 'waste of time'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Autumn is a pretty miserable time for garden owners, particularly in Scotland. Storm Ashley battered us all pretty hard recently, leading to seriously wet weather and gale force winds that left lawns covered in piles of leaves.However, if your first instinct was to rush straight outside with a rake and try to clear them up, you might want to pause for a minute and listen to what Gardener's World presenter Joe Swift has to say.He recently opened up to The Times and explained that the grueling and almost never-ending task of raking up dead leaves can often be eliminated, saying: "Having spent weeks, if not months, of my life raking them up, I just wish I'd changed my ways decades ago."According to him, letting leaves lie on the ground really is a win-win solution.

It's good for the soil, wildlife and also gives you back vital hours you can spend doing other, more important gardening tasks in preparation for the winter months.

For example, fellow gardening expert Monty Don recently shared one major job you should do immediately to get ready for the colder season ahead, saying: "Prune climbing roses.

Climbing roses bloom on shoots grown the same spring so they can be pruned hard now." So getting out the shears is a better use of your time than pulling out the rake and waste bags yet again.Of course, it's vital to clear leaves from paths and patios where they can become dangerously slippery, The Express reports.