How to have a beautiful winter garden
Winter can be the perfect time to enjoy your garden and make plans for the next year. Garden expert Naomi Slade brings inspiration with her winter design tips and gardening jobs to tackle in winter
Winter is often seen as a time away from the garden when the harsh weather drives gardeners indoors, but the cold weather brings both opportunities and challenges. A frost that can harm tender plants may also create the stunning spectacle of a crisp white lawn, frozen seed heads and branches dusted with ice.
The splashes of colour from evergreens and winter-flowering shrubs are all the more vivid for their rarity. Red holly berries, fiery orange cornus stems and vibrant purple crocus petals pop out from the cold, muted surroundings.
鈥Six key elements of winter garden design
911爆料 winter advice
Apples and pears: winter pruning
Overwintering plants in conservatories
Overwintering tender plants: lifting or mulching
Overwintering tender plants: wrapping
Plants for winter interest
Wildlife: helping through winter
Containers: winter selection
Preventing winter damage
Naomi鈥檚 winter gardening jobs
- 鈥Bulbs: planting up containers and spreads of
in autumn and early winter ensures there will soon be flowers to enjoy. It can also help to link the winter and spring gardens, so there is not an awkward pause. Feed bulbs in containers to keep them going until the following year.bulbs -
Tender perennials: some plants are borderline hardy and these can be lifted and brought into a greenhouse, or moved under cover wholesale if grown in a pot. Alternatively, if the soil is sufficiently well-drained, they can be left in situ, with the crowns protected with a thick layer of
mulch or insurance taken in late summer and overwintered inside.cuttings -
Fruit trees and other woody plants: winter pruning encourages new growth that will produce fruit and flowers, and helps to maintain an attractive shape. However, if a plant is doing well or is flowering consistently without intervention, annual pruning may not be needed, while very mature specimens may not need pruning at all.
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Soil care: using organic matter as a mulch does not just make the garden look tidy and cared for, but it also improves everything from water retention and drainage, to increasing the availability of
nutrients and supporting microfauna. Add spent compost, leaf mould, or chipped to the surface before the cold sets in and let the weather and worms do their work.bark -
Sowing seeds: in early and late winter, seeds can be sown for a crop of annual flowers such as sweet peas or Ammi majus. Chillies and tomatoes can be sown in early spring, to fruit in the summer.
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Bare roots: in autumn and winter, a range of perennials, shrubs, and trees are available to purchase as dormant,
bare-root specimens. Often cheaper to buy and ship than potted plants, these may need less maintenance too, as they are inactive when planted and the ground is already moist. -
Tidy up: it is much easier to relax and enjoy your garden when it doesn鈥檛 present you with niggling jobs to do, so take some time to sort things out to your liking. Stack empty pots in an inconspicuous corner,
compost dead plants and debris, and make sure that everything looks as pleasing as possible.