Top Winter Garden Maintenance Tips
Winter can be tough on your garden, with the short daylight hours and frosty temperatures. While a lot of your outdoor activities have come to a halt during the winter, your work is not over. Your plants, lawn, and trees still need support to ensure they make it through this season.
The work you do now will determine the success of your garden come spring, and therefore should not be avoided. It is best to act as soon as possible when performing winter garden maintenance, and keep a regular schedule during the season to support your landscaping efforts.
As a leading landscaping company, TM Landscapes understands the value of year-round maintenance. We offer garden design and landscaping services throughout the year and can help our clients take advantage of their outdoor spaces, no matter the weather.
Using this experience, we are sharing our best tips for winter garden maintenance in this post. With our winter maintenance guide, you can ensure that your garden not only survives the cold weather but thrives and blooms beautifully in spring.
The Importance Of Winter Garden Maintenance
With the days getting shorter and the temperatures dropping, it is tempting to hang up your gardening tools until spring. However, this can cause lasting issues in your outdoor space, as consistent care is needed to support landscapes throughout the seasons.
Although you may not be spending as much time outdoors in winter, your work is not over. Your garden still needs to be protected and prepared, ensuring it will bloom beautifully once more when spring rolls back around.
Performing consistent winter garden maintenance can provide a range of benefits to your outdoor space, including:
- Protects Plants And Prevents Damage: It should come as no surprise that winter can be tough on your garden. Conditions such as frost, snow and cold winds can wreak havoc on delicate plants, which is why maintenance is needed to shelter your garden and help maintain the temperature, soil conditions and hydration needed to thrive.
- Prepares Ground For Spring Growth: Healthy soil is the foundation of every great garden, and this needs to be maintained all year round. Winter garden maintenance can help protect soil conditions, giving your garden time to rejuvenate throughout the season so it can perform well ahead of spring and summer blooms next year.
- Saves Time And Effort: A few hours of care during the winter can save you days come spring and summer. Various winter garden maintenance tasks, from cleaning your tools to mulching, can help prevent bigger problems along the line, making gardening easier once the new year arrives.
- Keeps Your Garden Attractive: While a lot of winter garden maintenance is focused on the health of your garden, it can also contribute to the visual appeal of the space. Keeping your garden neat can enhance garden design in the winter, ensuring the space is still a source of pride.
- Supports Wildlife: As well as keeping your garden neat and attractive, winter garden maintenance can also make it a supportive environment. While you may not be spending much time in the garden this winter, plenty of other creatures do, and they can be provided safe habitats through your winter tidying, pruning and planting.
Top Winter Garden Maintenance Tasks To Begin Now
Now that you understand the various benefits of winter garden maintenance, it is time to begin caring for your garden. Set the right foundation for a vibrant spring and ensure your landscape remains neat and safe throughout the winter with tasks such as:
Protecting Plants From Frost And Cold
Frost can cause serious damage to tender plants, young shoots, and even established shrubs if left unprotected. This is why plant protection is an essential part of winter garden maintenance, and it can be done in several ways, based on the kind of garden design you have and the plants you own:
- Move Indoors: The most delicate and tender plants, such as newly planted shoots or seasonal flowers, should be moved indoors ahead of the worst winter weather. This is easy to do for container flowers and potted plants. If you do not have room in your house, use a greenhouse or other storage space as shelter this winter.
- Plant Covers: Plant covers made of fleece or wool can be used to protect not only the roots, but also stems and leaves. Ensure that plants are not tightly wrapped, and instead of some room to breathe. Periodically throughout the winter, check that the wrap is still in place and in a suitable position., This is a great option for sensitive plants that cannot be moved, such as those in flower beds or borders.
- Insulate Roots: Organic mulch is one of the best tools for winter garden maintenance because it provides a range of benefits and is cheap and easy to obtain. Materials such as compost or wood chips can be used to insulate roots during the winter, protecting soil conditions and maintaining moisture. Organic materials can also provide essential nutrients to plants as they decompose, supporting their future growth and stability.
- Careful Watering: To avoid frost damage, make sure that you water carefully during your winter garden maintenance. Plants still need hydration during this season, but you need to be careful to avoid freezing. Avoid watering late in the evening, as temperatures drop overnight, and instead water early in the day if needed, so plants have time to absorb the moisture before temperatures drop.
Lawn And Soil Care During Winter
All plants require care during the winter, including your lawn. Like all forms of winter garden maintenance, the care you offer your lawn now will set the foundation for a healthy, vibrant spring and summer.
To ensure that your lawn will be lush and green next year, perform winter garden maintenance such as:
- Rake Fallen Leaves: Throughout the autumn and winter, make sure you are regularly removing fallen leaves from your garden, in particular the lawn. These can cause rot and mould issues, leading to decay of the grass without the right care.
- Aerate: It is recommended to aerate compacted lawn and soil areas ahead of the worst winter weather, and ensure this remains throughout the season. Aeration helps with drainage and can prevent flooding, as well as ensure that your lawn does not become waterlogged and unable to grow.
- Compost and Mulch: Like all other planting areas, mulching is extremely beneficial for your lawns. This form of winter garden maintenance protects the soil and grass, maintaining a suitable temperature and helping fertilise the plants so they can grow healthily come spring.
For more advice regarding lawn and plant care in winter, as well as how to prolong these efforts throughout the year, see our Yearly Landscaping Calendar: Your Guide To Seasonal Gardening In Hampshire.
Pruning Plants, Shrubs And Trees
While many plants have entered their dormant season during the winter, which means they will not grow during the cold weather, some pruning is still required.
Only a select few trees, shrubs and plants should be pruned in early winter to maintain their shape and condition, such as rose bushes, fruit trees, and deciduous shrubs. Cutting back these plants can help conserve energy, so they have a healthy return in spring.
It can also keep your garden neat and attractive as winter progresses, giving you a suitable foundation for future garden design plans.
When pruning, focus your energy on the dead, diseased or damaged branches and stems. These should be removed to avoid the spreading of diseases and pests, as well as encouraging new growth in your plants come spring.
During this form of winter garden maintenance, it is recommended for you to leave grasses and seed heads, as these not only provide visual interest to your garden during the winter, but can also be beneficial to wildlife at this time.
To reduce the need for pruning, consider creating a low-maintenance garden, as we explore in our Best Plants for a Low-Maintenance Garden: Easy-Care Ideas for Every Outdoor Space.
Winter Garden Maintenance For Hardscaping
Winter is not only a tough time for your plants, but all areas of your garden. The harsh weather conditions and freezing temperatures can also cause damage to hardscape areas. For example, freezing can cause cracks in paving and patios to become larger, leading to more damage and expensive repairs.
As less time is being spent outdoors, now is a great time to consider any hardscaping upgrades that need to be done within your garden.
Whether your paving needs repairing or fencing replaced, now is a good time to work with local landscaping companies, like TM Landscapes, to get your garden in top shape. By working now, you can enjoy an attractive, safe and functional garden as soon as the weather warms up.
To determine whether you are working with the right landscaping company, see our post on How to Choose the Right Landscaping Company in Hampshire: Questions To Ask Before Hiring.
Conclusion
With these winter garden maintenance tasks, you can ensure that your landscape not only survives the season but thrives through it. The work you do now sets the foundation for the spring and summer, and can lead to a more vibrant, successful gardening year.
As leading landscape gardeners, TM Landscapes understands what it takes to have an attractive garden all year round. We offer a range of landscaping services throughout the year to help you achieve your dream garden, from large-scale renovations to smaller upgrades and designs.
Contact Us Today
To learn more about our services or to request a quote from the team, please contact us today.
FAQs
Should I water my plants in winter?
Yes, but sparingly to avoid freezing and structural damage. You should water plants only on mild, dry days when the soil is not frozen. It is also recommended to water plants early in the day to offer enough time for absorption.
Can I still plant in winter?
Yes, you can still plant in winter, as long as you focus on hardy plants or those in their dormant period. For example, you can plant bare-root trees, shrubs, and hedges while they’re dormant, and hardy winter bedding plants like pansies and violas can do well in cold weather.
How do I protect potted plants in winter?
It is recommended to move pots inside during the winter or to a sheltered corner. For additional support, you should raise them off the ground with pot feet and wrap them in bubble wrap or fleece to prevent root damage from frost.