A successful garden provides a visually interesting variety of colour year-round. Builderscrack has some winter gardening tips for you! Start by incorporating a blend of trees both evergreen and deciduous, mixed up with flowering shrubs, spring bulbs, perennials and annuals.
In climates with mild winters, cooler months are a good time for flower colour and fragrance.
For climate control, choose evergreen plants for protection from cold winds and deciduous plants around the house to let the winter sunshine stream in. Here are some top gardening tips for the next couple of months.
- Renovate the vegetable garden by taking out spent crops and vines such as corn and tomatoes.
- Plant autumn vegetable and herb crops such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, parsley and coriander. Sow carrots, broad beans and celeriac.
- Plant new trees, shrubs or a fast-growing vine on a hot pergola. Ornamental grapevines provide autumn colour and summer shade.
- Take cuttings from geraniums, succulents and fuchsias.
- Plant bulbs for spring and winter-flowering in containers.
- Cut back dead or withered summer flowers close to the ground. Grasses and other sturdy plants can be left to provide winter structure and seeds for birds.
Buy colourful indoor plants such as cyclamen, chrysanthemum and poinsettia while they are in flower and keep them in a well-lit situation.- Compost fallen leaves, grass clippings, kitchen scraps and shredded prunings, remembering to turn them periodically with a garden fork.
- Prune the hedges before winter, keeping them compact and bushy. If you don’t have the right tools, then hire a landscape gardener or arborist.
Gardening tips for May
Plant citrus trees now. Citrus prefers shelter and warmth, out of the frost zone. Try to grow near existing trees on your property.- Start planting bare-rooted trees and shrub. Make a well around the base of the plant to hold water and cover with a layer of mulch. Remember to water thoroughly.
- Mulch flowerbeds with a layer of leaves and prepare new beds. Dig over the ground, work in compost and spread a protective layer of leaves for the best results. This creates a warm blanket through winter and suppresses weeds.
- Thin out or prune deciduous trees and climbing roses.
- Spray or treat moss on paths with moss-killer to control its growth as it develops quickly in warm, wet weather.
Plant more bulbs in the ground, pots or hanging baskets.- Check the height of bulbs when planting in containers – choose dwarf daffodils, tulips, crocus and hyacinths for best results.
- Plant strawberries in pots or hanging baskets.
- Sow new lawns and refurbishing old ones with lawn seed.
Hire a landscape designer or gardener from Builderscrack this autumn or read about hiring and using an arborist. Designers often have more time to answer questions and develop smaller projects than in Spring.
