As the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, it’s time to start thinking about preparing the garden for winter. Winter can be a tough time for gardens, with frosts, snow and ice putting plants under stress. But with a little preparation, you can help your garden survive the winter months and come out fighting in the spring.

The coldest season year is often a quiet one in the garden, although if the weather is fairly mild, there are still things to be done. You can tidy up paths, the flower beds and the rockery. If you have been too busy before to build a rockery, one can be made during this month.

If you can obtain any small-growing trees or shrubs, they can be planted in their dormant stage.

Some people think Rhododendrons are difficult to cultivate, but this most beautiful outdoor flowering shrub is easily grown, and can be planted this month. Privet can also be planted now, and hardy ferns.

The home-made implement that you can make this month is a drill-maker for use next year. Just get a board twelve inches wide, and, say, two-and-a-half feet long, and cut it as shown in the sketch. The block is six inches square, and a broom-handle is fastened into a hole in the centre.

Winter Gardening Priorities

1. Start by giving your garden a good tidy up. Remove any dead or dying plants, and cut back herbaceous borders so that they’re tidy and compact. This will help to reduce the amount of work you have to do in the spring, and will also stop any diseased plant material from overwriting your borders.
2. Mulching is a great way to protect plants from the cold weather. A layer of mulch helps to insulate the soil, keeping it warmer for longer. This is especially important for tender plants which may struggle in cold conditions.
3. Another way to protect plants from the cold is to cover them with horticultural fleece or straw. This will create a microclimate around the plant, trapping warm air close to the ground and preventing frost damage.
4. One of the biggest dangers to plants in winter is desiccation from wind and rain. To help prevent this, make sure you water your plants as needed in the winter months – especially those in greenhouses or conservatories. Even evergreen plants need regular watering during periods of drought.
5. Finally, remember to keep an eye on your drainage over winter. With all the extra rain and snow, it’s important to make sure that your drains are clear so that water can drain away quickly from around your property.
   

Winter Gardening: what are you to do in these cold months? Well, first of all you should certainly sow a row of Sweet Peas. Get out your big spade and garden line, and dig a trench at least a foot deep. (The deeper, the better.) Put a layer of stable manure at the bottom, then fill up the trench to within about three inches of the top. Buy a few packets of Sweet Pea seeds, and sow them separately in the trench, putting the seeds about two or three inches apart. Perhaps it would be better to buy two packets if your trench is a fairly long one, because these Sweet Peas have to stand the winter, and perhaps some of them may not come up. Sweet Peas sown late Winter usually make stronger plants than those sown in the spring. Lupins are very pretty flowers, and you can take a small piece off an old root and plant it in your garden. It will bloom in early Summer.

You are sure to want to grow some Roses, and there is no better time for putting these in than early February, provided that the soil is fairly dry.

In the vegetable garden it’s also getting active you may now plant Broad-Beans and Green Peas if you’re after an early crop. Now is a good time to plant a Rhubarb root and invest in a rhubarb forcer.

Your Winter gardening checklist

Late Winter is a great month to get ahead in the garden and make a great start to a productive gardening year. Here’s our handy check list to make your garden a great one.

In the Ornamental Garden

• Chop back deciduous ornamentals left over winter
• Divide clumps of snowdrops after they have finished flowering
• Prune clematis, cutting back to the buds about 30cm from the base
• Fill containers with hardy bedding flowers, such as primroses, wallflowers and forget-me-nots
• Cut back wisteria side shoots, to encourage masses of flowers in spring
• Prune buddleia to it’s base so it docent take over
• Trim back ivy and other climbers before birds start nesting
• Sprinkle slow-release fertilizer around the base of fruit trees, roses and other flowering shrubs

Winter Jobs In the Vegetable Garden

• Organise your seeds and place orders for new ones
• Prepare vegetable beds for sowing by weeding, then cover with a thick layer of compost or black plastic
• Feed fruit trees and bushes to support fruiting
• Put cloches or fleece over strawberry plants to encourage an early crop
• Plant rhubarb into enriched soil, or lift and divide existing clumps
• Finish winter-pruning fruit trees and soft fruits such as apples, raspberries and currants
• Plant bare-root fruit bushes, trees and fruit canes
• Seeds to sow in Winter: Sow mustard and cress on a warm windowsill for pickings in just a couple of weeks. Tomatoes, eggplant, chilies, kale, winter salad leaves, peas, sprouting broccoli, leeks, spinach, kohlrabi, globe artichokes. Plant shallots and garlic (if not done already in autumn).
• Chit first-early potato tubers, by standing them in trays in a light, frost-free place
• What to harvest in Winter: Mediterranean herbs such as rosemary (all year), Brussels sprouts, parsnips, cabbages, cauliflower, kale, and leeks.

In the Greenhouse

• Sow sweet peas in deep pots
• Sow Summer bedding and tender annuals, including cosmos, lobelia, dahlias, nasturtiums and snapdragons
• Sow tender crops such as tomatoes and chilies in a heated propagator or on a warm sunny windowsill
• Plant dahlia tubers in trays
• Monitor greenhouse temperatures with a max-min thermometer
• Start planting summer bulbs in pots indoors, including liatris, begonias, gloxinias, lilies, eucomis and agapanthus
• Cut back overwintered fuchsias and increase the frequency of watering
• Remove yellowing leaves from overwintering plants to prevent diseases
• Wash greenhouse glazing inside and out to let in as much light as possible

Garden maintenance and projects

• Build raised beds or a no dig system
• Install a greenhouse and get you seedlings off to an early start
• Create garden paths for beauty or to avoid compacting the soil
• Install a nest box with a camera, so you can watch birds raising their chicks
• Make or buy a cold frame to use when hardening off plants
• Make fat ball feeders and hang them to attract native birds
• Look after the soil by spreading garden compost or well-rotted manure over garden beds
• Sort and clean up bamboo canes, plant supports and cloches
• Clean and service lawn mowers and garden tools

Preparing your garden for winter doesn’t have to be a huge job; just a few simple steps can help you ensure that your garden stays healthy over the colder months. So don’t delay – get out there and give your garden some TLC today!