How To Prepare Your Garden For Winter

Clean Your Greenhouse

If you’ve been using shade paint on your greenhouse, now is the time to scrub it off. You’ll want to get the glass as clean and as sparkling as you can in order to allow the largest possible amount of light through to warm up your plants in the colder months of the year. It’s also worth doing a quick check for any cracks or broken panes and getting these seen to so that they aren’t letting in unnecessary cold air.

Tidy Your Borders

Cut back your faded perennials to 5cm above ground level so that they don’t need to spend too much energy trying to flower; this will allow them to flourish when the warmer months roll back around again. Don’t cut them back too much, as insects will still love them, and they can still look gorgeous as part of a wintery garden scene.

Once your borders are tidy, you can spread a layer of compost or mulch over them to provide essential extra nourishment.

Drain Your Water Feature if Appropriate

Water features are at risk of freezing over the winter months, and they can also become clogged with extra debris. If your water feature doesn’t have any wildlife living in it, it can be worth taking it offline over the colder months, which means draining it and shutting off the pumps and filters.

If your water feature has fish and insects living in it, obviously this isn’t possible, so consider covering the surface with a fine mesh net to prevent frost from forming and begin a regular routine of skimming the surface of the water so that additional debris doesn’t clog your filters. You can seek specialist advice from water-garden.co.uk on the best way to protect your pond in the winter, based on the area you live in and the type of water feature that you have.

Undertake Lawn Management

Rake your lawn thoroughly to get rid of any moss, and add drainage holes near paths and play areas by making deep holes with a garden fork at 10cm intervals.

If you’re considering laying new turf, autumn is the perfect time to do it as it will give it plenty of time to establish itself before next summer.

Plant Evergreens

Gardens can end up looking a little lifeless in the winter months. If you want to avoid this, plant some evergreens, which will flourish all year round and make your garden look wonderful.

Move Plants Indoors

If you have plants that are susceptible to frost then it’s a good idea to gently lift them and move them indoors over the colder months. Cut back the stems and lift the tubers from the ground, and store them in trays of dry compost or sand.

Maintain Your Garden Equipment

Winter is the perfect time to maintain your garden equipment ready for the following year. Give everything a good clean, and get electrical or petrol appliances such as lawnmowers and strimmers serviced in order to keep them in top condition.