We’ve all started wearing a few more layers, bringing out the long sleeves and the scarves, so winter is definitely coming. But whilst we can don a nice fluffy jumper to keep out the cold, it’s not as easy to protect your garden from the season’s harsh weather conditions.
If your garden has been thriving all spring and summer, you probably don’t want to see it wilt and droop after months of hard work. So how can you make sure your garden survives the winter months and still looks every bit as beautiful as it did in August? Here are a few tips to help you keep your garden alive.
Plant your potted plants in the ground
We all know the struggle of pots breaking or cracking when the weather drops too low, or the wind blows them over. Cold weather will also kill your plants if the only protection they have is a pot.
So a good way to avoid broken pots and soil everywhere is to move your potted plants into plastic pots, and plant the plastic pots into the ground.
This means your plants are a lot less likely to blow over, and even if gale winds strike, the roots of your plants (the most important bits) will be protected underground. Your plants will also be insulated by the soil more than they would be in a pot.
Use a horticultural fleece
A fleece for you plants might sound like a little bizarre, but it works. A horticultural fleece, or garden fleece, can protect your plants from frost and wind. It will also stop birds and insects from getting to and nibbling away at your plants.
These fleeces are permeable, so your plants can still take in water and sunlight when they’re wrapped up and snug.
If you have an allotment, you can lay the fleece over it, or if you want to protect specific plants, you can wrap the fleece around them.
Apply mulch
There are different types of mulch, from wood chips, to straw, to manure, and for this purpose, any type of mulch will do.
Put the mulch around your plants, and it will insulate the roots and help the soil retain moisture, even when it’s freezing outside.
An advantage to this method of keeping your garden alive is that at the same time as insulating your plants, it will also improve the soil’s fertility, and depending on the mulch you use, it can make the flower beds look quite pretty.
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