How to Make the Most of Your Garden in Autumn and Winter

Not ready to hang up your garden tools and venture indoors? These 5 tips will keep you enjoying your garden late into the year.

Autumn inevitably brings slower activity in the garden, but if you want your garden to flourish come spring, you need to invest in preparation.

Here are a few useful tips to get you started:

1. Start by cleaning away rotting and finished plants. This will not only prevent pests from returning to your garden in spring, but it will also improve your soil health.

2. Think forward to the colourful garden you want by spring and start planting bulbs accordingly. Tulips are a great choice as they need to be planted in cool soil, or plant daffodils in pots to enjoy come early spring.

3. Give your tools and patio furniture some TLC. Start with a thorough clean before applying treatments and storing in a cool, dry environment. Taking this step will not only prolong the life of your tools and furniture, but it will also save you time come spring.

For more gardening to-do lists for each month of the year, take a look at our blog post.

Autumn and winter provide the perfect opportunity to get festive in the garden.

Spend autumn collecting acorns and pine cones to turn into winter wreaths. With the addition of cinnamon sticks you’ll smell Christmas before you’ve even entered your home! Use this autumn and winter period to be bold and turn your garden into a grotto or adopt more subtle touches to add festive spirit.

A winter garden would be incomplete without lighting. Dig out your outdoor lights, drape them over your home or over your shed. For a truly whimsical look, delicately place them in trees and topiary. For the Christmas enthusiasts among you, investing in lighted decorations like sleighs and reindeers bring festive fun to your garden. Subtle touches such as lanterns placed around your garden give a festive yet sophisticated look.

Extend the outdoor season for a while longer with a new fire pit.

Not just a useful addition to the garden that can be enjoyed all year round, the countless design options mean you are sure to find a firepit to complement your garden. Equally beautiful in design and function, chimeneas make the perfect focal point to your garden during the autumn/winter season.

Spend the crisp nights snuggled under blankets with friends and family, indulging your inner child toasting marshmallows on the firepit! Wood stores also make a great feature to a garden, bringing texture and colour to your outdoor space. Fill to the brim with multiple-sized logs and kindling.

Are you fed up of your plant pots looking sad and bare during winter? Then fear not, we have some helpful tips to revitalise your planters and inject some life back into your garden.

Trusty evergreen plants are a staple in providing some contrasting colour to the silvery tones that transform your garden through the winter period. You can even recreate your favourite winter scents in your garden with shrubs such as ‘Christmas box’ (sarcococca confusa), which will fill your garden with glorious sweet notes.

Evergreen plants are also a perfect low-maintenance option, so you can reduce your time spent tending to the garden. Planting grasses can bring movement and drama, making sure your garden doesn’t feel static or boring. Be sure to choose hardy succulents and shrubs when renewing your plant pots, as they will need to withstand the harsh British winter!

For a more in depth read on how to inject some colour into your garden, take a look at our blog post on autumn plants here.

Do your part for the environment by providing refuge for your local wildlife.

It can be as simple as brushing leaves and debris into borders to create warm burrowing habitats for hedgehogs and insects. Take it a step further and treat your garden animals to some luxury with wooden insect houses and seed balls for your winter red robins. You’ll reap the benefits in summer when these helpful insects make an appearance in your garden!

Bring the family together to build insect ‘hotels’ and birdhouses to place around your garden. This will make the perfect opportunity to have your own Attenborough moment, identifying bugs with the children and bird-watching from your home. Get the blankets out and admire the natural wildlife as it finds a home in your garden!

For more tips on encouraging wildlife into your garden, read our blog post here.

Autumn and winter might not necessarily be time that you’d think to spend in the garden, but with these ideas we hope you will!