How to make your garden grow in winter

Although things certainly slow down in the garden over winter, crisp winter days and a sprinkling of snow don’t need to stop you enjoying your garden.  A well designed garden can be almost as colourful in winter as it is during the spring and summer and, even if you’ve missed out on planting winter veg for this season (cabbages, cauliflowers and root veg can all do really well over winter, ready to harvest in the spring), you can continue growing right through the winter months using cloches or tunnels to protect your planting.

But, first things first, the flowers;   Who doesn’t long for some colour to lighten up  the winter landscape and, despite common misconceptions, there are plenty of winter flowers that can be used to brighten up borders, grown in containers on paving and patio or trained up garden fencing to provide some evergreen foliage.

One favourite has got to be the Christmas Rose.  Whilst it’s by no means certain that the evergreen Helleborus Niger, to give it its proper name, will be flowering by Christmas, its lovely pale green petals should be out in bloom during January.

The Sweet Box or Sarococca is another great choice which will be bedecked with lovely, sweet smelling flowers from December, right through until March.  If you need some persuading to pull on your Muddy Wellies and get out into the garden during the colder months then both of these will offer a tempting reward.

For bigger gardens where the garden landscaping offers more flexibility, Viburnum shrubs are known for their light pink blooms that appear between November and February. If you fancy incorporating some into your garden but don’t know where to start just put it on the list for next year.  Any London garden designer will be happy to give you some advice on planting and garden layout.

If you are in London garden design should also include a thought for the local wildlife who struggle more than most to feed themselves during winter.  Adding some seasonal berry bushes will not only add a splash of Christmas red to your garden, but you’ll be doing your bit for the wildlife too.

And finally, if you’ve got garden fencing that you’d rather hide, most varieties of Ivy are fast growing and provide great looking, lovely green coverage.  If you’re looking for garden design London has a wealth of landscaping specialists and, sometimes, just talking through your ideas with an expert can help the creative juices to flow so here’s to a colourful winter wonderland in your very own garden.

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