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Winter is well and truly here, and while gardens often take a quieter turn during this season, there’s plenty of garden maintenance tips to ensure your outdoor space remains healthy and ready for the seasons ahead!
Protect and Tidy Your Garden
Winter weather can be challenging for your garden, but with some simple steps, you can keep it in great shape:
Shield plants from frost:
Move potted plants to sheltered spots like a greenhouse or porch, and use horticultural fleece to protect tender plants in the ground. Apply mulch around the base of shrubs and perennials to insulate roots and retain moisture.
Tidy fallen leaves:
Clear leaves from lawns and beds to prevent pests and diseases. You can use the leaves to make leaf mould – pile them in a mesh bin, keep them moist, and let them break down over 6–12 months for a rich, crumbly mulch. Avoid leaves that take too long to decompose or contain natural chemicals that inhibit plant growth, such as magnolia, eucalyptus and evergreen leaves (eg. holly and laurel).
Avoid walking on frosty grass:
Walking on frozen lawns can damage grass blades, leaving brown patches once the frost thaws.
Prune and clean up:
Remove damaged branches from shrubs and trees to prevent wind damage. Clean and sharpen tools, and tidy up outdoor furniture to protect it from the elements.
Plan Ahead and Add Winter Interest
December is the perfect time to plan for the seasons ahead while keeping your garden visually appealing through winter.
Order Seeds and Bulbs
Stock up on seeds and bulbs to ensure you’re ready for planting as soon as the weather warms. Consider:
Flowers:
Sweet peas, snapdragons, and cosmos for early sowing to create a vibrant summer display.
Sweet peas, snapdragons and cosmos. Vegetables:
Hardy crops like broad beans and onions can be sown now for a head start in spring.
Broad beans and onions. Bulbs:
Summer flowering bulbs such as lillies and crocosmias can be planted in late winter and early spring, while dahlia tubers can be potted up indoors or in a greenhouse to give them a headstart for the year ahead.
Plan Your Planting Scheme
Use this time to create a garden that thrives year-round:
Structure:
Incorporate evergreen shrubs like hebe or yew to provide a backbone for your design.
Hebe pots and yew hedge. Seasonal Colour:
Choose flowers that bloom in succession, such as tulips and daffodils for spring, followed by lavender and roses for summer, and asters and sedums for autumn.
Tulips and Daffodils, lavender and roses, asters and seedums. Texture:
Add depth and movement with grasses like Stipa tenuissima or perennials such as ferns.
Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feather grass) and fern.
Add Winter Interest
Even in the colder months, your garden can be a source of beauty and vibrancy:
Winter-flowering shrubs:
Plant Cyclamen, Hellebores, or Cornus for winter blooms, fragrance and colour.
Cyclamen, hellebores and cornus (dogwood). Soft outdoor lighting:
Highlight key features with soft, warm lighting to create a cosy, inviting feel
Solar lights.
If you’re unsure where to start, Gardenio offers both garden design and planting plan services to help you create a garden tailored to your space, style, and needs.
Encourage Wildlife
Winter can be tough on garden wildlife, but you can provide a helping hand:
Install bird feeders:
Fill feeders with high-energy foods like seeds, suet, and nuts to support local birds through the colder months.
Provide water:
Ensure birds and other wildlife have access to unfrozen water.
Create shelter:
Pile logs or leave a corner of your garden wild to provide homes for insects and hedgehogs.
With thoughtful preparation and simple actions, your garden can remain a place of beauty and purpose through the winter months. Protecting plants, tidying thoughtfully, planning ahead, and incorporating winter interest will ensure your space stays vibrant and ready to bloom in spring.
Gardenio is here to help with expert advice, planting plans, and maintenance services to keep your garden thriving year-round. Stay warm, and happy gardening!
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