Leaving your garden when it is freezing outside

Freezing weather can be really harsh on your garden, if you have to go away in these cold days don’t forget to spare a thought for your garden. It’s always wise to spend a little time preparing your garden to be left to its own devices.  Here are some top tips from the Muddy Wellies team:

Security matters… don’t let you garden give you away

First things first, home security is a must if you’re planning to go away.  Whilst most people remember to lock up their home you’d be surprised how many go away without locking garden sheds or garages.  Considering that most are full of garden tools that could make a would-be thief’s job a lot easier, securing all of your outhouses should be a top priority.

In London garden design can often mean that it’s easy to climb over walls and fencing and into back gardens.  You can’t turn your property into Fort Knox but you can make sure that you don’t leave anything lying about on paving and patios that could make breaking and entering quicker.

Keeping hard frosts at bay

It’s best to make sure that your garden plants are properly protected against the cold winter frosts before you leave.  Consider moving really delicate plants and herbs into a greenhouse or even indoors (if you’re able to ask a neighbour to water them) and protect others with cloches, tunnels or protective wadding.

Plants in containers can often feel the cold so think about wrapping up the pots on your patio for winter.  Almost anything will do, even an old duvet.  Although it won’t do much for your garden’s visual appeal it will make sure you don’t greet spring with a garden full of dead plants and, after all, in London garden design really takes off in the warmer months anyway..

Keeping patio plants moist

If you regularly go away and leave you garden it’s worth considering whether pots and containers can be moved onto beds and buried rim deep into the soil…  this will help them absorb moisture from the soil and reduce the need to water.  If it’s too late for that, put smaller pots inside bigger ones and fill the gap with moist compost but to be honest, at this time of year even the thirstiest of plants should be self-sufficient.

Give any vegetables a drink

Most of the vegetables that grow well over winter will survive with a minimum of care but if you’ve been growing salad or tender veg under tunnels and cloches it’s best to give them a good drink of water before you leave.

And finally, before you leave, spare a thought for the birds and hang up a feeder attached to the side of your garden shed or fencing… after all, it is Christmas!

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