How to Clean Your Garden for Winter
14/12/2013
It’s important in the wintertime to make sure your garden is able to withstand the harsh weather that many of us experience throughout the UK.
Before you pack all of your equipment away until spring, now is the time to give your garden the once over so it’s fully prepared for what lies ahead!
Here’s a handy list tips on how to clean your garden for winter.
Firstly, remove all the fallen leaves from the paths and grass, this will help prevent a buildup of slimy slippery leaves when we have frost, rain or snow.
Collect these leaves together and instead of throwing them away in your green bin, store them in a pile at the back of your garden and over time you will have a very beneficial leaf mold pile which you can use of on your flower beds.
Your flower beds can benefit from having a layer of foliage and leaves on them. Mulch provides a protective blanket so they’re able to cope with the changes in temperatures.
As for your lawn, pierce it with a rake to help with drainage, once you have done that your lawn is ready for winter.
Winter is definitely one time of year that your garden doesn’t have to look immaculate. As long as you’ve taken care of your plants, cleared your paths and stored your equipment away, your garden can happily go to sleep until the spring.
If you have young trees in your garden it’s a good idea to protect the delicate bark from gnawing wildlife by wrapping some wire around the stem of the tree.
Your garden should also be a winter shelter for wildlife, keeping them warm and safe as the cold months can be extremely difficult for them and it’s nice for you to give nature a helping hand.
Once you have used a chainsaw to cut up your logs, pile them up in a log store because it won’t just keep your logs dry but will also make a great home for beetles and frogs. These creatures are the gardeners friend as they are perfect for keeping slugs out of your garden!
If you have a bonfire in your garden, check through what you are burning before you start the fire as these can be a popular place for hedgehogs to shelter.
Keeping your feathered friends happy throughout the winter months is just important as the other areas of your garden.
Make a point of not cutting back all of your plants, especially ones with berries. Birds love these. Put up extra bird feeders around the garden and water bowls, making sure that you change the water everyday. Birds love over ripe fruit and high energy balls.
It’s a good idea to use a pressure washer to clean paths down, removing any moss and slippery areas. Do this as soon as possible and when the weather forecast is set for mild damp weather so you’re not creating an ice rink and making it even more dangerous!
Taking care of your lawn mower is vital if you want to be able to make good use of it when the spring arrives. Turn your lawn mower on to its side and clean off all the compacted grass, whilst checking for any damages and treating it with oil.
If your lawn mower is a petrol mower then make sure you drain the petrol out and give the engine a once over. If you prefer to have a specialist do it then it may be worth taking any garden equipment that you have to be sharpened. This will save you time in the spring when everyone else is taking their tools to be sharpened.
Get in touch to find out which are the best garden machines to help you get your garden in great shape for 2014.