Top 5 Tips To Prepare Your Whole Garden For Winter

Even though gardening is generally deemed as a summer hobby, there’s nothing stopping you from stepping outside when the days start to get shorter.

With a little planning and work, a winter garden can look and feel magical so here are some essential tips for ensuring that your winter garden survives the big freeze.

Weather

Snow both protects and threatens plants. A good covering of snow can act as insulation for the soil, however, when it starts to pile on branches it can weigh them down and eventually break them. If this happens release them by allowing the ice to melt gradually.

If you have a pond with fish, a good tip is to put an inflatable ball on the surface of the water. When it freezes over remove the ball and you have a ready-made air hole for pond life to breathe.

Equipment

Don’t neglect your garden equipment just because it’s stored at the back of your shed this winter. Send your lawnmower off for service, sharpen shears and give spades, forks and other tools a good clean ready for the Spring.

Plants

Plants that flourished and looked stunning during summer are likely to be way past their best by December so dig up those annuals (that only last one season) and compost them. Replace with colourful winter bedding – dark colours don’t show up as well in winter so go for whites, yellows and pinks.

Wildlife

As winter draws in, wildlife in your garden will become more and more dependent on the food you put out for them. Put some bird feeders up if you haven’t already, and the more plants you can leave standing the better. With your encouragement birds will stick around and even get rid of those garden pests!

Lawn

Winter weather can leave lawns looking slightly worse for wear and be hard to recover from. While many people turn to moss killer, fertiliser and even laying new turf over winter, artificial grass is a much more practical solution. A simple brush is all it takes to keep a synthetic garden looking green and healthy and you can spend all the time you save maintaining other parts of your garden.