In short: You'll need two days. On Saturday, prune, clear leaves, and prepare your beds. On Sunday, shut off the water, clean your patio and furniture, cover them, and store your tools. The best time is between September and mid-October, before the first night frosts. Below, you'll find the complete checklist to print out, along with the tools you'll need for each task.

Starting in September gives you an advantage: the soil is still warm, the days are long enough, and most tasks can be completed without time pressure. If you wait until November, you'll be working in mud and near-freezing temperatures. So: block out a weekend, print the list, and get started.

When is the right time?

The first night frost typically occurs in most regions of Germany between mid-October and early November. Everything sensitive to frost—outdoor faucets, rain barrels, potted plants, irrigation systems—must be taken care of beforehand. Tasks involving pruning follow their own rules:

• Hedges: Only gentle shaping is permitted until September 30 (Federal Nature Conservation Act, protection of nesting birds). Significant pruning is possible from October 1.
• Shrubs and fruit trees: In autumn, only remove deadwood and diseased branches. The main pruning occurs in late winter.
• Lawn: Last cut in October or early November, when the grass stops growing. Do not cut shorter than 5 cm.

This means for this weekend: you prepare, tidy up, and protect. Radical pruning will only happen next month.

Saturday: Pruning, Leaves, Beds

1. Shape your hedges

A light shaping trim is perfectly sufficient now. You're only removing this year's growth so that the hedge goes into winter compactly and sprouts more densely in spring. Using manual hedge shears allows for more precision than electric ones and helps you get clean cuts even in corners and edges. Stretch a string beforehand to ensure a straight top edge.

Tools: Hedge shears with long blades

• Hedge Shears

2. Remove deadwood and diseased branches from shrubs and trees

Walk around each shrub and fruit tree. Remove anything that is dry, broken, or diseased. Leave healthy shoots, even if they seem too long to you. Spring bloomers like forsythia and lilac already have their flower buds; if you cut them in autumn, they won't bloom in spring.

For branches up to thumb thickness, loppers are sufficient. A ratchet mechanism helps immensely because you can make the cut in several steps, rather than with full force all at once. For branches from about three centimeters, use a saw. For a lot of cuttings or thicker branches, a cordless garden saw saves significant time and effort.

Tools: Anvil loppers with ratchet, telescopic loppers for high branches, folding saw, or cordless garden saw

• Anvil Loppers with Ratchet
• Telescopic Loppers
• Folding Saw
• 12V Li-ion Cordless Garden Saw

3. Cut back perennials, but not all of them

Cut back faded, soggy, or fallen perennials a hand's width above the ground. Leave sturdy seed heads such as coneflowers, sedum, or ornamental grasses: they protect the plant from frost, look good with hoarfrost, and feed birds over the winter. The rule is: what stands, stays. What lies down, goes.

Tools: Pruning shears

• Multifunction Pruning Shears
• Anvil Pruning Shears

4. Leaves: off the lawn, into the beds

Leaves on the lawn block light and air from the grass; after a few weeks, you'll have yellow patches and fungal growth. On paths and stairs, they become slippery. So: rake leaves off lawns and paths. In flower beds and under shrubs, leaves can remain. They are free mulch, keep the soil warm, and are worked in by worms until spring.

A hand rake is better for beds and tight spots between perennials than a large leaf rake, as it won't damage anything. A garden waste bag that you place next to you and pull along saves you many trips to the compost heap.

Tools: Hand rake, garden waste bag

• Hand Rake with Wooden Handle
• Garden Waste Bag

5. Loosen beds instead of digging

Digging is unnecessary for most soils and harms soil life. Loosen the top ten centimeters with a cultivator, remove perennial weeds, and cover the area with leaves or compost. Use a garden fork to break up compacted areas without turning the soil layers. The spade is only used if you are dividing perennials, creating a new bed, or truly have heavy clay soil.

Tools: Cultivator, garden fork, spade if needed

• Cultivator with Wooden Handle
• Garden Fork
• Spade

Sunday: Water, Clean, Cover, Store

6. Turn off the water and drain everything

This is the most expensive point in spring if you forget it. Water expands when it freezes and bursts pipes, faucets, and barrels.

• Outdoor faucet: Close the shut-off valve inside the house, then open the outdoor faucet and leave it open so that residual water can drain.
• Garden hose: Disconnect, completely drain, roll up, and store in a frost-free place. A hose reel does this in two minutes, and the hose won't get kinks.
• Rain barrel: Empty it or at least lower the water level by two-thirds. With a rain barrel pump, you can use the water for one last watering of potted plants and new plantings, instead of just draining it.
• Irrigation systems: Drain, bring control units indoors.

Tools: Hose reel, rain barrel pump

• Hose Reel 20 m
• 12V Cordless Rain Barrel Pump

7. Clean patio, paths, and garden furniture

Any algae, moss, and dirt left now will become a slip hazard over winter and embed itself in joints and wood. Thoroughly spray down your patio and paths, wash your furniture, and let it dry before covering it.

For wooden decks: reduce pressure, maintain distance, and work with the grain, otherwise the surface will tear. For paving with sand joints, keep the spray flat so the sand isn't washed out.

Tools: Pressure washer

• Pressure Washer 1800W

8. Cover what remains outside

Garden furniture, grill, firewood, lawnmower under the carport: everything that doesn't fit into the house or shed goes under a tarp. It's important not to pack it airtight. Condensation forms under a completely sealed tarp, which causes more damage than rain. Allow air circulation on the sides and secure the tarp with tension straps or bungee cords so it doesn't end up at the neighbor's house in the first autumn storm.

Tools: Tarpaulin, tension straps

• Tarpaulin 2.6 × 3.3 m – for garden furniture sets and grills
• Tarpaulin 3.5 × 4.8 m – for firewood stacks and large furniture groups
• Tension Strap and Bungee Cord Set

9. Clean, oil, and store tools

Finally, the tools you've been working with for two days. Brush off dirt, wipe blades with a drop of oil, file dull edges. Store them dry and hanging, not on the ground. For the lawnmower: run the fuel tank empty or fill it completely, store batteries half-charged in a frost-free place.

This takes twenty minutes and is the difference between tools that cut immediately in spring and tools that rust.

Tools: Oil can, files, work gloves for the entire weekend

• Oil Can 500 ml
• 5-piece File Set
• Latex-dipped Work Gloves

Your Weekend Schedule

For small gardens, you'll finish faster. For large gardens, dedicate a separate day to the hedge.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I prepare my garden for winter?

Between September and mid-October, before the first night frosts arrive. Frost-sensitive items like outdoor faucets and rain barrels first, then pruning depending on the plant in October or only in late winter.

Can I prune my hedge in September?

A gentle shaping trim is allowed year-round. Severe pruning or cutting back to the stump is prohibited from March 1 to September 30 and only possible from October 1.

Do I really need to turn off the outdoor faucet?

Yes, unless it is explicitly frost-proof. Close the shut-off valve inside the house, open the outdoor faucet, and leave it open. A burst pipe in the wall is the most expensive mistake of the entire autumn.

Should I leave leaves or remove them?

Remove them from the lawn and paths. Leave them in beds and under shrubs, where they protect the soil and animals.

When is the last lawn mowing?

When the grass stops growing, usually in October or early November. Not shorter than 5 cm, otherwise it's more prone to freezing through.

Do I have to dig up the beds?

In most cases, no. Loosen, remove weeds, mulch. Dig only for heavy clay soil or when creating a new bed.

What tools do I need at a minimum?

Pruning shears, loppers, hand rake, garden waste bag, tarpaulin, and gloves. These will get you through the entire weekend. Everything else just makes it faster or more comfortable.

Our Recommendation on the Topic

If you only buy one new tool this weekend, make it the Anvil Loppers with Ratchet. The ratchet cuts thick branches in three small steps instead of one powerful effort, and the upper blade is non-stick coated and won't gum up with resin. It will make your Saturday noticeably shorter.

The Weekend Set for Beginners:

• Multifunction Pruning Shears
• Anvil Loppers with Ratchet
• Hand Rake with Wooden Handle
• Garden Waste Bag
• Tarpaulin 2.6 × 3.3 m
• Latex-dipped Work Gloves

All tools from this guide can be found bundled in our Autumn Check 2026 promotion.

Tools from Brüder Mannesmann from Remscheid. For over 90 years in the Bergisches Land, where the weather between October and March is exactly what this guide protects you from.

Next week in the Autumn Check: Five household tasks before the heating season begins. Why you should check the drain before turning on the heating, and which five tasks will save you from emergency services in January.