For many home and garden-owners, winter is the season when their garden is all but forgotten.
However, it can be a relaxing and rewarding time to be outdoors whether it’s spending time gardening, chilling with a book in a sunny spot, or enjoying a barbecue.
The big question is: how do you get, and keep, your garden looking good during a challenging time?
Here, Adam Woodhams, expert horticulturalist and Victa ambassador, shares some of his winter garden secrets.
Having a tidy lawn is an easy way of keeping your garden vibrant.
Keep it clean
One of the main reasons that a garden looks sad and tired during the winter is neglect. Fixing this is as simple as picking up fallen twigs, raking leaves and pruning off any dead branches and foliage.
“A quality leaf-blower can be the handiest of tools at this time. The Victa 18V Lithium-Ion Blower is idea for clearing leaves.”
Realistically, you’ll only need to mow your lawn once every six weeks in winter but running it over the lawn, with the catcher fitted and set about one or two clicks higher than cutting height will collect fallen detritus and dead grass, leaving your lawn looking fresher.
Hanging baskets add colour and nature to your space.
Paint with plants
Winter flowering plants can bring your garden to life over the next few months. Camellias range in size from smallish shrubs to a small tree, meaning they are suitable for all sorts of situations, even hedging and screening as they prune very well.
Coming into winter, the Sasanqua varieties in nurseries are in full bloom and during winter, the Japonica varieties come into flower.
There is also a range of colourful, cheerful, cool season annual bloomers that can be used in pots, hanging baskets and garden beds with seedlings for just about every imaginable flower you can think of, from dainty violas to the huge, bold flower spikes of foxgloves and delphiniums.
Other plants to look for are: alyssum, calendula, delphinium, foxglove, lobelia, violas and pansies and more.
“The rough rule of thumb? If they are on the racks in your local garden centre, they are good to plant.”
Paving is a good job to get done during the winter.
Winter is the time to...
Projects that are too uncomfortable to do in the hot weather are perfect jobs for the winter. Paving or building a deck can be ploughed through during the winter and be ready to enjoy come spring.
Secondly, you can plan for spring and summer colour by adding roses – the largest range of roses is available during winter as cheaper, easier to manage, bare-rooted or bagged plants.
