How To Prepare Your Garden For The Winter

We have been lucky enough to have a beautiful, hot summer this year meaning our gardens have flourished. However a garden should look its best all year round and as autumn is here it’s time to start preparing our gardens for the cold winter months.

Winter Garden

The benefits of preparing for winter are that it makes your garden look better and also makes it easier for you to start maintaining it again by the time spring comes.

First of all it’s important to have a general clean up in your garden. Remove all weeds and dead or diseased leaves; however there is no need to prune because you don’t want to encourage any new growth that will just die in the low temperatures.

Once everything is spick and span, it’s a good time to plant some spring bulbs. Certain bulbs require a cold period before they grow so it’s ideal to plant them for winter and they will flower in the spring. An example of bulbs to plant in the winter are Crocus and Daffodils.

Mulch is a layer that goes on the top of plants to protect them from the cold winter temperatures. It’s easy to make your own using old leaves, wood chippings, grass and any other organic materials from the garden. Once you have made it cover the top of all your plants with it to help keep them insulated throughout the winter months. Read a more in depth guide to making your own mulch here.

Winter can be quite a dry time for plants especially if it snows so be sure to water all of your garden heavily to ensure none of the plants dry out.

Now your plants are tidy and covered it’s a good idea to organise your tools. First of all drain the garden hose and store it in a sheltered place so it doesn’t freeze. Also gather together any other garden tools you have to clean and sharpen them. They can then be stored away ready to be used straight away in the spring.

Remember that winter isn’t only a hard time for plants it’s also a difficult time for wildlife. Why not help out the wildlife in your garden by buying a bird feeder. Another advantage of this is that wildlife can help keep unwanted pests away all year round, for example birds will eat insects and hedgehogs will eat slugs.

Hedgehog

Now you’re all set for the perfect winter garden!

Published September 26th, 2013 by Jordan. Article ref 1115

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