Essential Advice for the Winter Gardener

Essential Advice for the winter gardener
The winter is a time of the year where the enthusiastic gardener can still find plenty of jobs to do. These jobs can range from protecting plants to tidying up the garden before the onset of spring. Just as we all need to look after ourselves in the colder weather to keep bugs at bay, you need to do the same for your garden – and our latest post runs through some key bits of advice.

Prevent Frost From Damaging Your Herbs

Herbs that are particularly vulnerable to frost can be protected in a variety of ways. For instance, the likes of myrtle, bay, French lavender and olive can be put undercover, or protected by a fleece during the coldest months.

Utilise The Winter Sunshine

Consider moving plants, such as winter vegetables, to sunnier areas of the garden if required. If these are potted plants then this is a simple process.

Loosen Soil

To aid plant growth, loosen the soil in your garden to a minimum depth of between 18 to 24 inches. Then mix organic compost into the soil to a depth of several inches.

Remove Leaves

Though leaves, when allowed to rot, can constitute a great natural compost it’s still necessary to remove them if they are stifling the growth of any winter plants or killing off patches of grass.

Don’t Put Plants Outside Too Early

Always look carefully at the health of any plants that are kept in a greenhouse, but which you to plan to put outside in the winter. If it looks too weak, then it should be kept inside until it’s ready.

Plants For Winter

Some plants will actually thrive in the winter months, notably some vegetables. Because the growth of some carrots and spinach is at a slower pace during the winter they can have a sweeter flavour as a result.

Obviously, the more protection plants are offered in the colder months the better their chances of survival. With the right type of protection, which can range from a greenhouse to a cold frame, the dip in temperatures can leave plants unaffected.

A number of bedding plants that usually flower in spring can also appear now and then during the winter. These include cyclamen, viola and pansy. Evergreen shrubs are also a good choice for the gardener looking for more greenery in their garden during the winter.

Contact Eden Landscapes

We can help your garden look great throughout the winter and all year round, together with offering customers expert tips and assistance. Please contact us on 01933 652 786 and we will be happy to answer any queries that you have and provide you with more information about our gardening services.