Thanks for all the comments so far.

As Helen states, I'm in York. The village I'm moving to is a few miles outside the city, so it will be pretty exposed and windy. There are fields on two sides, so I'm expecting a chilly winter!!

OK, here is my plan of action, based on the advice you've given so far plus a few days intensive reading.

If anything isn't right, please let me know:

1) Dig out pond. Mud on the compost heaps ( there are two in place ) and fill with water, then leave over winter. fish and plants added in spriing
2) chop tree's back by about 1/3 into a tidy shape
3) chop the woody shrubs back fairly hard, as required by their space and location
4) dead head/cut back rest of plants
5) Mow and edge the lawn with a half moon spade. At some point, I'm thinking of edging at least the back garden lawn with bricks. Any issues doing this in winter?
6) fork over the borders, especially in the front. Manure added.
7) Set up a leaf litter bin
8) put up a few bird boxes ( Is it too late to do this?)



I also have a few new questions if that's ok?

a) I've read about "green manure", but not sure what it is. It seems to be some type of grass. can someone tell me about it? Usages, pro's, con's etc

b) I'm starting to think about next year, especially spring and early summer. Any specific plants that I should be planting around now? Is it to late for daffodils? I know that tulips need to go in later on. How about crocus, snowbells , blue bells etc? Remember that the garden is exposed.

3) raised beds: I won't be growing any vegs. Is there a point to a raised bed purely for flowers? If so, is winter an OK time to construct one?


many thanks

Steve