Great Tips to Prepare Your Garden for Winter

Putting the garden to bed for the winter is mostly a matter of cleaning up and covering up. As fall progresses and temperatures drop, those plants that aren't killed outright by frost prepare for dormancy. Clear out the blackened stems and foliage of annual flowers and vegetables to prevent the possibility of their harboring disease pathogens and insect eggs over the winter. The cool weather is a good time to make a cold frame, dig and box in raised beds, and make general repairs.

One of the most important winter care tips for plants is to clean and cover up your garden. Frost and snow fall can be other enemies for your plants during winter. If you want to see your plants healthy and happy during winter, you need to plan ahead. Initially, you should clear out the unhealthy and blackened stems from the foliage.

Use The Elements

Just because winter brings ice, cold and snow, it does not mean you can’t use it to your advantage. Snow can actually protect your plants. A good amount of snow cover can act as an insulator, similar to mulch. But it can damage and break plants if you have too much. Be sure to monitor the conditions and act accordingly.

Prepare Your Perennials

Perennials need a lot of attention before the first snowfall. To start, clean up the area around these plants to get rid of debris. This will allow more air flow to the plants during the winter months. After the first frost, place a 6 inch layer of mulch around your garden. This will help keep rodents out while insulating the plant life. You can also use pine needles and chopped leaves if you do not have mulch available. Be sure to collect seeds of your favorite plants so you have a full stash to plant in the spring, and move the delicate plants indoors.

Water Thoroughly

Winter is a dry season. Think how it works on your skin. In the same way, it can make the soil dry and unsuitable for plants. Therefore, you must water your plants at regular intervals, so that the moisture retains in the loam.

Mulch

Mulching around plants keeps in heat and will restore nutrients as temperatures drops. The best time to mulch is after the ground starts to freeze, but before the first big snowfall of the season. Three to four inches of mulch will be sufficient to keep plants healthy, though if you live in a colder or windier area, you may want to consider putting down a thicker layer.

Leaf Smarts

Here’s a tip when it comes to raking leaves: leave some leaf debris in your garden to blanket soil during the colder months. Just be sure to clean up come springtime so that your flowers can grow normally. Additionally, be mindful of the mold that can grow on the underside of leaves. You might want to wear a facemask to prevent allergies from acting up.

Keep your Plants Warm

Roses, grape vines and fruit trees all need a little extra love in the cold. Cone covers, plastic covers and tarps are all great ways to keep these plants warm in inclement weather. Adding some holiday lights will also save your favorite perennials from frost damage and keep them festive!

The Best Tips for Decorating Your Outdoor Garden

Outdoor garden decoration refers to doing up the whole landscape using paths, walls, water features, plants, and sitting areas. While nature beautifies a garden with its fresh flowers and plants, man-made structures like ponds, waterfalls, and water-fountains also add to its beauty.

Unique Design Plan

You can have a unique and serene environment in your garden, if you dedicate a few hours to it. A good design plan is essential for a beautiful garden. One can try landscaping, as it not only adds to the beauty of the garden, but also gives a cooling effect to the outdoor space. Vertical planting can bring more greenery into the garden. For kids, parents can make a fairy garden; keeping in mind, the fairy theme which makes use of fairy wind chimes, bird feeders, statues, fountains, cottages, and houses. Another type that is in vogue today, is a water garden. Depending upon the space available, you can have a small pool of water for aquatic plants like water lily, watercress, and lotus; you can also add certain fish to it.

Level up

Creating levels is great way to take advantage of vertical space in a small garden. Place pots on a garden ladder, which can be found at most gardening stores, or make your own. Paint a wooden ladder. Screw boards or plywood into the rungs to make shelves. Position pots on tree stumps, stands and old wooden stools and chairs of differing heights. If you have a trellis, add a hanging plant or two. Too many will chop up the view, making your garden seem smaller.

Go for seating

Large pieces of garden furniture will overwhelm a tight space, so opt for a wrought-iron café chair and table or a small bench. Leave pieces of iron furniture distressed and weathered for a rustic feel or apply colorful rustproof paint to give your garden a lively pop. Accent seating with patterned pillows or cushions in water-resistant fabric.

Add charming touches

Rusted watering cans, worn gardening shovels and spades positioned at angles on a fence, wall or staked into the ground create whimsy and intrigue. Scour garage sales, secondhand stores, flea markets or your grandmother’s shed. Find a vintage wagon and use it as a plant container, turn a metal fence panel into a trellis. These touches make your garden fun and unpredictable.

Lights And Lanterns

The way you light up your garden space also plays an important role in its ambiance. You can choose some nice candles for calm nights and lanterns for a moonlit night. Solar power lights are also gaining popularity and will take care of your budget as well.

Flower Pots

Buy large decorative flower pots and grow the plants you want to move around different areas in your garden. You can grow different aromatic plants and different species of flowering plants and position the nice smelling plants in the patio or around the seating areas. You can also create a wonderful display by growing flowering plants of the same species bit of different colors. Nevertheless, make sure the pots you use are not too heavy for you to move.