Gardening in the winter

You don’t have to put a cap on your passion for gardening just because it’s winter. There are a lot of winter gardening activities that you can perform even in the coldest of days. Here are some great tips for you to consider.

#1- Start preparing in autumn

Winter gardens should be prepared as early as autumn. You have to start cleaning and collecting dried leaves and twigs from your outdoor garden to prevent the kind of uncontrolled rotting that can spread disease. Once this is done, find out which plants should be taken in. Not every plant will lie dormant to live again in spring. These non winter plants are best kept indoors.

#2- Take care of your evergreens

You shouldn’t sulk indoors when there are always winter trees and plants to take care of. Gently remove accumulated snow and damaged leaves and branches on your outdoor plants. If the soil is not frozen, make sure that you give your winter plants regular amounts of water.

#3- Grow autumn flowers

You might have a hard time looking for a winter flower . There are however some flowers that tend to grow best in autumn way into December especially if you take good care of them indoors. Consider planting asters and mums in autumn. Like every other garden plant, they would need water and fertilizer even on cold days.

#4- Plant in winter

You might also want to engage in some winter planting of flowers . Tulips, lilies and daffodils can be planted in autumn and winter so that they can come out in full bloom by the end of winter which is just in time for spring.

#5- Plant vegetables

If flowers and potted plants aren’t appealing to you, there are always a number of winter vegetables to plant. The severity of winter in your particular region however should determine the types of winter plants that you can put in your garden. Plants like carrots, broccoli, beets and corn can withstand mild frost. Other hardier winter vegetables like garlic, radishes and onions can survive medium frost. If the winter season is particularly harsh, you can use a frame or a row cover to protect your plants.

#6- Start an indoor garden

You can do all your winter gardening indoors . You can have a small window garden of herbs and other indoor plants. The best thing about indoor gardens is that they can be protected from the cold while at the same time still have access to sunlight.

#7- Prepare for the next season

You don’t have to settle for just winter planting as your only garden activity in the winter. This season is the best time for composting and mulching. You can even store compost for you to use in spring. If you don’t have any winter plants to care for, you can also simply clean and sharpen your gardening tools in time for spring gardening.

Winter is indeed a wonderful time for gardeners. With a little patience, knowledge and creativity, you can enjoy great winter planting session and other winter gardening activities.