Tips, ideas and thoughts for your winter gardening activities
Contrary to popular belief, winter is a very significant time for gardens. We often neglect our gardens and patios during winter since we tend to spend most of our time indoors.
The following are some activities that you may consider doing during the gardening winter to help ensure that your winter garden will generate the best results next spring.
In the gardening life cycle, winter is the time for preparation which is also very important for every garden. During winter, the ground will be covered with decaying remains which came from the autumn months. These remains will eventually break down thereby becoming fertilizer on the top soil for the upcoming spring season. What you can do is to provide some cover foliage to promote the fertilization process. A few benefits that the foliage provides are it helps keep the nutrients in and it provides additional fertilization when it also decays.
You may proceed with your gardening regardless of the season if you live in an area where winter is relatively warm. Take note however, that some plants still survive even in areas where winter is very, very cold. Some of these plants are annuals and evergreens. These and some variety of vines can add a lush vibrant look to the typically lonely and gray mood of winter.
Winter Gardening Tips and Winter Garden Ideas
Watering
It is occasionally advisable to do some watering in the garden during the winter months. During times that the ground is not frozen, you should consider watering it to keep valuable moisture in the soil to help nourish plants that are can survive until spring. If you have evergreens, then all the more that you need to water during winter. However, you should only water if necessary. Consider each situation differently as there are some cases that the soil does not require any watering since it already contains a considerable amount of moisture from precipitation such as melted snow.
Trim it Back
You should consider trimming or pruning dead grasses, leaves, limbs and vines which may have build up during the fall and early winter. If not removed, these can make a garden look dull and gloomy. Trimming will also allow more space for new growth when spring arrives. The debris can also be gathered to be used as bedding in flower beds or as fertilizer.
Clean It Up
Winter is always a good time to clean up and prepare for spring. You should remove leaf build up from flower beds, ponds and other garden elements since these could cause problems for you such as clogged up rain gutters. This could also mean disaster to your ponds, pump systems, pools and other water features. Maintaining these things will help safeguard your investments.
You should also keep in mind to disconnect hoses and other accessible irrigation equipment. Drain out all the water that you can since this could damage your hoses and sprinkler lines when it freezes and expands. It is typically common to encounter broken fittings and lines when spring comes if you haven’t done the necessary precautionary measures during winter.
Protect the living plants
Get rid of any snow buildup on your plants and trees to prevent damage to limbs and branches. Be careful in doing so as some limbs may be frozen and will easily break.
Winter is also a good period to take care of your indoor plants. Potted outdoor plants can also be brought inside your house and can provide beautiful embellishment for your home during the winter season. Taking care of your indoor plants can help keep your mind set on gardening such that when spring comes, you can go back to your gardening in full swing.
I hope that you gleaned a lot from these winter gardening tips and winter gardening ideas. Caring for your winter garden is not hard but it does entail a bit of work. But when spring comes and you see the results, you will realize that the efforts you exerted are all worth it.
