Winter Gardening Tips
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Winter Gardening
Tips
Winter doesn't mean neglecting your garden
Plant Winter Bedding
Dig Over Your Soil
Prune and plant shrubs
Grow Winter
vegetables
We hope this
guide offers some useful advice and tips for you Winter gardening activities.
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As soon as the cold weather descends many of us have a tendency to neglect our garden until the Spring, especially coming into the New Year after a busy festive period. Many people talk about gardens being in a dormancy period over the winter months however there are still plenty of jobs that can be done. It’s an important time to maintain your garden so it is well prepared for next season. In this guide we offer some advice on jobs to be getting on with during the winter months.
Plant Winter bedding to add colour and interest to your garden in Winter and early Spring. Many Winter bedding plants have a wonderful scent and come in variety of colours, helping to brighten up your garden on dull Winter days. Winter bedding plants can be planted in beds, borders, containers, hanging baskets and even window boxes or balconies. If you are looking to enjoy your bedding plants from indoors make sure you plant them in key places that can be seen from inside your home. You should also look to plant them close together as Winter bedding will not fill out as much as Summer displays.
Some of our
favourite Winter bedding plants include:
· Pansies
·
Primrose
·
Wallflower
·
Forget
me not
·
Sweet
William
·
Japanese
Skimmia
·
Scarlet
Willow
On milder winter days an essential job is to dig over your soil. Make sure the ground isn’t frozen or waterlogged before starting. Begin by digging and forking the soil to help loosen it and remove weeds as best you can this to help with your preparation for next Spring. Another great tip is to add compost to the soil as this will help improve the soil structure and create a food reserve for many plants through the harsher months…
On milder
Winter days an essential job is to dig over your soil. Make sure the ground
isn’t frozen or waterlogged before starting. Begin by digging and forking the
soil to help loosen it and remove weeds as best you can this to help with your
preparation for next Spring. Another great tip is to add compost to the soil as
this will help improve the soil structure and create a food reserve for many
plants through the harsher months…
Pruning
shrubs is another tasks for Winter months. Shrub roses may need care and attention,
start by removing any dead or diseased branches. Take extra to cut back
branches that rub against each other to prevent any damage, and any long
branches should also be cut back.
Mild winter
weather is also the perfect time to plant new shrubs and trees as soil
conditions are both warm and moist enough to allow roots to fully establish.
Ensure you water the shrubs regularly as droughts stress is common among new
trees and shrubs. Dry windy conditions can lead to water shortages so keeping
an eye on these plants is essential.
Don’t let
your vegetable plot stand neglected during Winter as there are plenty of
vegetables to be grown. Winter vegetable growing allows you to extend your
growing season and have tasty crops all year round. Perfect for Christmas
dinners it also gives you the satisfaction of becoming self-sufficient and
enjoying fresh vegetables. Vegetables like parsnips, broccoli and leeks are
frost resistant and can grow successfully during Winter.
Vegetables to grow during Winter include:
· Brussel Sprouts
· Kale
· Leeks
· Parsnips
· Cauliflowers
· Broccoli
General Maintenance
If you have
some spare time get out into the garden and tackle some quick tasks that help
keep your garden well maintained. Sprucing up your garden path can take a
matter of minutes, but can really help add structure to your garden. Paths can
become lost in your landscape during Autumn and Winter so begin by getting a
brush and sweeping away the leaves. You may require a hard brush to get rid of
any moss and weeds. Another quick task is to clear out your greenhouse or shit. Clean
up tools and re sharpen them where necessary you will benefit from this when
you come to use them next season. Also go through seed catalogues and start
selecting what you are going to grow the following year.