Peter Dowdall: What to do to prepare your garden for winter 

Different shrubs and climbers will introduce glitz and glamour to your plot no matter what its size or what time of year it is 

Poppy seed pods will go from being ripe to empty in the blink of an eye on a breezy day so be prepared. Picture: iStock

As we look towards the winter months, we must start taking some plants and bulbs inside for their annual rest period.

As soon as summer flowering bulbs such as Gladiolus and Lilium have died back, lift them out of the ground, let them dry out for a day or two, wrap them in newspaper or straw and store them somewhere dry until it’s time to plant out again in February and March of next year.