Essential Winter Gardening To Support Your Landscape
The cold weather and freezing temperatures of winter may make you reluctant to get outside, but your time in the garden is not over yet. Your landscape still needs you to remain vibrant and healthy – which is the purpose of winter gardening.
By performing even the smallest maintenance tasks in your garden this season, you can ensure that the landscape is healthy and safe. You can play an active role in supporting local ecosystems and ensuring that you will have a thriving garden to return to in spring.
At Heath Landscapes & Garden Design, we appreciate the beauty of every season and deliver a range of solutions to support all landscapes, no matter the weather. Using our expertise in landscaping, we are sharing the best methods for winter gardening that can support your outdoor space as we reach the end of the year.
The Importance Of Winter Gardening
Winter gardening is just as important as garden maintenance any other time of the year – in some cases, it can be even more vital. Taking care of your garden during the changing seasons is the key to maintaining its health and beauty.
Plants, like all living creatures, need support to deal with change. Seasonal pruning, maintenance and gardening are so important to help your garden deal with these changes, and as the harsh temperatures of winter can pose a serious threat to your landscape, it is so important to continue getting out there.
Winter gardening is focused on supporting your garden so it can survive the harsh weather of the season, as well as getting it prepared for new growth in spring. Many plants enter their dormant period during winter but will need care and attention to ensure healthy regrowth.
Even if you do not plan on spending much time outside over the next few months, spending even just one afternoon performing these winter gardening tasks can make such a difference.
Winter Gardening Tasks To Take Better Care Of Your Landscape
Winter gardening is focused on supporting your garden during this time. Unlike other seasonal maintenance tasks, there is not a lot of effort required to make plants grow or add more greenery to your garden – although there are some wonderful winter-blooming species you can consider.
Instead, this is a period of recuperation and a time to ensure that your garden is safe even in freezing temperatures. The work you do now can make such a difference come spring and set the next gardening season off with a bang.
Support your garden this season with the following winter gardening jobs:
1) Final Maintenance
It is a good idea to do your final maintenance for the season as early as possible. This includes the last cut of your lawn until spring, as well as any minor repairs that may be needed, such as restaining or painting timber fences and decking.
Making sure your garden is clear is a great way to enter the dormant period and ensure that the space remains attractive, safe and healthy until the new year.
Once these jobs have been done, you need to clean your gardening tools and store them somewhere dry, such as a garden shed or garage. Do not leave any metal tools or decorations outside during the winter, as they will rust and become damaged.
As well as storing gardening tools, make sure all garden furniture is either put away or secured and covered in place to prevent weather damage.
2) Pruning Trees And Shrubs
Along with the final maintenance for your garden ahead of winter, another important winter gardening job is to prune trees and shrubs. Much like your final cutting of the lawn, the pruning done now will last until the new year when done on deciduous trees, as they will not grow again until spring.
Without the leaves, it will be easier to cut down hedges, shrubs and trees as it will be easier to identify which branches need to be removed. You can also use this as an opportunity to check the condition of the plants and ensure there are no signs of disease that need to be managed.
Pruning shrubs as part of your winter gardening also gives you a head start on your spring revival, as you can control the shape and growth pattern. Without the leaves, you can cut back hedges as much as you need and create a shape that fits better in your garden design so it will grow back beautifully next year.
3) Protect Plants
Winter weather can be harsh on your landscape, and like us, your plants may need additional support to keep warm this season. Adding coverings to any remains plants is a key part of winter gardening, as it can aid the ongoing growth and structure.
Mulch can be used to protect the roots of plants and should be added to flower beds, pots and vegetable gardens to protect everything underneath the soil. However, for growing and taller plants, something extra is needed.
Freeze barriers, such as horticultural fleece, row covers, or cloches can be securely installed over plants to keep them warm. Thermal coverings like this will create a warm microclimate around the plant to protect it and prevent frost damage and are ideal for species that need more care than just root protection.
4) Soil Preparation
Focusing on soil health now means you are laying the groundwork for a healthy, vibrant garden next spring which is why soil preparation should be part of your winter gardening.
The soil may need to be treated to repair any damage left over from the spring or summer, as well as prepared for new growth in spring. It is easier to determine the specific kind of care your soil needs by testing its pH and nutrient levels.
These readings allow you to deliver the precise care your garden needs and ensure that you are focusing on the winter gardening tasks that will make the biggest difference in the future. Before you shut up shop for winter, make sure the soil is healthy and ready to reuse come spring.
5) Wildlife Care
Plants are not the only part of your landscape that need additional support during the winter – wildlife does too. Creatures like birds, insects, pollinators and hedgehogs need extra food and shelter during the winter, and your garden can become a safe space for them.
You do not necessarily have to go out of your way to create a wildlife-friendly environment during your winter gardening, as even the smallest steps make a difference. Simply ensuring you have fresh water in the garden can help keep birds and creatures hydrated when all other water sources have frozen.
Additional tips include adding bird feeders, full of nuts and seeds, across the garden, or even leaving organic materials like logs in a pile to create a habitat for insects. This can be one of the most fun parts of winter gardening and a great way to get the kids outside on a warmer day by getting them involved.
Conclusion
Winter may not always be the best time to get outdoors, but it can still be a fruitful time for gardeners. By implementing winter gardening now, you can keep your outdoor space healthy and safe ready for a fresh start come spring.
Health Landscapes & Garden Design can be your partner in outdoor care, as we offer a range of landscaping services all year round.
Contact Us Today
Whether you need help with winter gardening or your next outdoor transformation, our team has the skills to help. Contact us today to request a quote.
