It can be easy to get lost in the joys of summer. This is the period that residents make the most of their garden spaces, with outdoor dining, sunbathing, and day-long barbeques. However, if too much indulgence is enjoyed, the winter period can become more difficult and, as a result, the garden space of next year more difficult to enjoy. This is because the winter period can be extremely challenging for a garden space, especially as assets, such as lawns, flowerbeds, and garden furniture are exposed to the elements.
To prevent this deterioration from happening, gardens must be tended to in the months leading up to winter and even as early as summer, depending on your garden space. To show you how, we’re sharing five important garden preparations that will ensure it remains safe and healthy, ready for the new year.
Prevent Water-Logging
The heavy rainfall of winter periods can be problematic for plants as it can lead to water-logging, which deteriorates their roots. To ensure that plants make it through the winter, barriers can be added, preventing water from pooling around plants and keeping garden beds isolated from potential flooding zones.
Planters can also be transformed into raised beds that not only divide important plants, especially food-producing plants, but prevent their roots from becoming overexposed to moisture during heavy rainfall.
Outbuilding Protection
Those with garden sheds will likely be familiar with how quickly outbuildings can become susceptible to weather damage. As such, those who have invested in high-quality structures, such as log cabins and summer houses, should do their best to ensure that their investments are appropriately defended.
Drainage can be an important asset for such structures, as can shutters for windows, which serve to protect glass from wind, rain, and airborne detritus.
Plant Control
While it might be simple to say weeding, garden plants are more nuanced than this term allows for. Some so-called weeds, for example, actually have their place in the garden, supporting pollinators and even protecting younger plants. Bramble, for example, can deter animals from nibbling at tree saplings.
However, other plants are deserving of the term weeds because they are disadvantageous to a garden space. Such plants should be removed and managed prior to winter. If they aren’t, the winter will become a period of growth and establishing for their roots, making them even harder to get rid of next year. Additionally, they can begin to overwhelm other plants and even compromise structures.
Store Furniture
Whether adding a cover to your garden dining furniture or storing it away, it is important that homeowners prepare their outdoor assets for the season ahead. While many items, such as garden chairs and tables, might seem resilient to weather and are actively marketed as such, even moderately challenging winters can reduce the quality of outdoor assets.
Animal Sanctuaries
A gardener’s responsibility goes beyond their own environment too, which is why insect hotels, hedgehog boxes, and other such assets are important to consider for one’s outdoor area. Even a single addition of such a sanctuary can dramatically help local wildlife to prosper during a difficult period. What’s more, it can transform a garden space into a bustling and ecologically rich environment for family and friends to enjoy.
