subject: Keeping Your Garden In Good Condition This Winter [print this page] Winter can be a tough time for gardens, and many people see it as a time to simply leave the garden alone and wait until the spring; however this need not be done as there are a number of things you can do to keep your garden looking great, even when its covered in snow!
If you are gardening on a larger scale, this season can be a fantastic time to grow cover crops, thereby increasing the quality of the soil when spring rolls around again. The season is also a fantastic time for composting and mulching for next years plant growth. It also helps to consult a planting chart if you want to time your plants to sprout in the winter (generally planted in autumn to early winter).
If you are concerned about your existing plants this winter, there are a number of simple solutions to keep them alive and safe from the cold weather. Perhaps the simplest of these would be to keep them in a greenhouse, which whilst still getting cold, shelters plants from snow yet still allows sunlight to get in just remember to regularly water the plants as they will not be getting rain water as they would outside.
You could also look into a raised bed garden solution, which simply involves creating a garden bed above the ground, often on a platform or within a wooden frame. This will ensure that the plants will still get the benefit of being outdoors but will be far less likely to freeze in the soil or rot in damp soil.
This is not to say that all plants are going to bear the winter as well as others flowers will struggle and fruit may not grow as well; however a lot of plants will survive and even flourish in this season. Evergreens such as wisteria or the ever-Christmassy holly and ivy will happily survive the colder climates and still provide a fantastic garden scene. You will even be able to incorporate said holly and ivy in indoor decorations if you so choose.
Possibly the easiest way to grow your plants is to simply grow them indoors it may seem a bit cluttered, but it means that as soon as it starts to become warmer and the threat of snow is fading (unless you live in colder climates or Britain, of course!), you can move them outside to your garden and continue growing them there. Winter need not be a time to neglect your garden; it just takes careful planning and re-organisation.
