Bare trees, leaf-strewn lawns and a quiet vegetable patch: winter is when a garden asks for a different kind of attention. Raking and mulching, wrapping tender plants in fleece, harvesting leeks and parsnips, then all the heavy digging and building — get it done in mild, frost-free spells and spring starts ahead.
From November to March, a gardener can take a step back. From the warmth of our cozy homes, we can start designing the following year’s garden and plan tasks that must be done.
However, it is crucial to still keep a tether directly to the garden. There are always a host of tasks to perform that will embellish and prepare the plot of land we love.
Here, we’ve asked landscaper Pierre Geeraerts to walk us through the major steps.
Trees are bare: keep collecting all leaves from the ground down to the last, so that you’ll have a clean garden. This will transfer organic matter to where it needs to be.
Compost these leaves or use them for mulch.
Mulch, bark, gravel, pozzolana, slate, geotextiles (water-porous): many options are available for gardener to choose from.
Generally speaking, also clean up your flower beds, ornamental water basins, garden accessories, wrought iron garden ornaments…
Winter work falls into a handful of clear jobs, each with its own best moment and its own weather window. Use the table to see which one to tackle next before reading the detail below.
| Winter job | What it involves | Best time |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves and mulch | Collect fallen leaves down to the last, then compost them or spread them as mulch over bare soil | Late autumn to midwinter, while trees are bare |
| Protecting tender plants | Move vulnerable exotics and cloud-pruned plants to a cool greenhouse or shed; fleece the hardier ones outdoors | Early winter, then whenever temperatures drop |
| Harvesting the vegetable patch | Lift and eat the winter vegetables: lettuce, cabbage, leek, parsnip and Jerusalem artichoke | Midwinter |
| Sowing and planting | Seedlings under cover, plus rose trees, deciduous trees and shrubs, fruit trees and perennials; prepare summer bulbs | Midwinter, in frost-free spells only |
| Pruning | Thin the most vigorous vines, roses and perennials first; leave shrubs, hydrangea and grasses until later | Early winter for thinning, late winter for shrubs |
| Heavy-duty work | Renovate a walkway or prepare ground for a lawn, hedge, terrace or pond | Through winter, whenever the weather permits |
Every one of these jobs waits on the weather, so keep the freezing spells for planning indoors.
Some plants such as vulnerable exotic plants, or plants pruned to a cloud shape must be brought indoors to a cool greenhouse or shed. You might even risk the heated indoors of the house. Others, when more hardy, can remain outdoors to weather the winter, as long as it doesn’t get too cold. Simply prepare winterizing fleece and other protections, and set out to wrap them up whenever temperatures drop.
In the vegetable patch, winter vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, leek, parsnip and Jerusalem artichoke must be ready for harvest by now. Pop them in the pan!
Start planning out your vegetable patch activities for a fresh new cycle, try to set up crop rotation plans.
It’s also possible to start preparing seedlings under cover. If the weather isn’t freezing in January, you can even try planting rose trees, deciduous trees and shrubs as well as fruit trees and perennials (not annuals). Since you’re going around with a spade, work it along the soil nearby to break it up and let the air flow through. Lastly, start preparing the summer flowering bulbs.
Again, it is very important not to prune when it’s freezing. At the beginning of winter, it may still be possible to thin out the most vigorous plants like vines, roses and perennials, those that have stayed beautiful still at the beginning of fall.
However, most summer blooming plants need to keep what we could call “a sweater”. This is simply whatever leaves and blooms stay clinging to the tree. They’ll protect branches and buds at the coldest of winter. Consequently, don’t yet touch hydrangea flowers nor grasses for instance, and schedule your pruning of shrubs towards the end of winter.
Remember also that, as regards fruit trees, “stone fruit” trees must be pruned while still bearing leaves, whereas “pip” trees must be pruned once leaves have fallen away.
To maximize the entire garden when nature starts waking from its slumber, perform all heavy-duty work during winter. If the weather permits, of course! Renovating a walkway, preparing the soil for a lawn, hedge, terrace or body of water… Also, remember to check on birds and other critters that live in your garden, by providing water and adequate food while ensuring they have a place to burrow down during colder nights. They’ll be grateful to you and will stick around at the beginning of spring!
Claire Lelong-Lehoang
