How to Look After Your Garden in Winter

Winter can be a challenging time for a gardener. However, with a bit of preparation, you can ensure that your garden comes back to bloom in the spring

How much winter garden maintenance you need to do depends on your local climate. For example, it’s pretty mild in East Anglia where our homes are located, so our tender plants don’t experience too many harsh frosts. Having said that, even if you live in a really mild climate, it’s still a good idea to be prepared for frosts and snow.

Here are a few simple winter gardening tips to keep your garden healthy this winter.

Caring for plants in cold weather

The best thing you can do for your plants in the winter is protect their roots from cold damage. Apply a good, thick layer of mulch around your plants. Bark, straw and raked leaves are all effective and natural mulch materials.

Delicate plants will also need a layer of fleece or hessian over the winter, and really tender plants might even need to be moved until the spring. Although, if you find you’re covering and moving a lot of plants, you might need to rethink your planting scheme in favour of plants better-suited to your climate.

Potted plants in the winter

A good way to care for delicate or sub-tropical plants over the winter is to keep them in plant pots. They can then be moved easily to more sheltered spots, greenhouses or even indoors. If you’re keeping potted plants outdoors, use frostproof containers and make sure they’re safe from gusts of wind.

Looking after the soil during cold weather

We’ve already mentioned mulch, which is a great way to enrich your soil over the colder months. Don’t be tempted to leave your beds too tidy over the winter. Leaves can naturally rot down into the soil, and perennials provide useful shelter for our smaller garden creatures.

Some gardeners plant “green manure” over the winter to improve the soil. Introduce quick-growing, ground-cover crops like vetch, alfalfa and certain clovers in the autumn for great winter soil care.

Winter pruning

Keep your secateurs and snips handy, because pruning should be part of the winter garden maintenance routine. Early in the year, prune your roses, fruit trees and bushes, wisteria, clematis and grape vines, because these all prefer to be trimmed while they’re dormant.

Winterising sheds, greenhouses and other garden buildings

In the autumn, check all your garden buildings to make sure they’re safe and ready for the winter. Do sheds and summer houses need a fresh coat of protective paint or varnish? Are there any loose panels? Are roofs secure? If you live in an exposed area, do smaller, lighter structures need lashing, ballast or even dismantling?

Protecting garden furniture over winter

If you have space in the garage or in a larger shed, you’ll have more peace-of-mind if you can overwinter garden furniture indoors. Make sure everything is clean and dry before you store it to avoid problems from mould, mice and insects. If you can’t move garden furniture indoors, make sure it’s in a sheltered place and ideally, properly covered.

Some garden furniture, such as benches and pub-style picnic tables, is designed to stay outdoors all year. As with your shed, check whether it might need a coat of protective varnish, and make sure it’s not in an area where it could get blown over or damaged.

Other winter garden tips

Hose pipes can freeze, which can cause them to split. Move hose pipes and reels indoors over the winter

Outdoor taps can also freeze. Fasten an insulation cover over the tap during the colder months

Garden accessories and games like rotary clothes lines, garden goal sets and trampolines can all become hazards in windy weather. Secure or move indoors

It can be hard for garden birds and other wild visitors to find food and water during a frost. Put out fresh water and food for our little garden friends

Plan ahead for a spot of winter colour, and plant snowdrop, early daffodil and crocus bulbs in the early autumn

Sweep, weed, scrub or pressure wash paths, decks and patios in the autumn, so they won’t become as slippery in wet winter weather. If you live in a cold part of the country, invest in sand or grit for iced-up paths

Houses with gardens from Hopkins Homes

This may seem like a lot of work, but it’ll be worth it! An outdoor space is a real asset to a home, and it’s so lovely being able to step straight from your home onto a terrace or lawn, whatever the time of year. If you want to know more about our new build homes with gardens, please get in touch with us at Hopkins Homes.