The British garden is definitely a seasonal place. During the spring and summer months, our gardens are bursting with colour, life, and even a fair amount of sunshine on good days. But as we spiral towards the darker days of winter, Brits spend less and less time relaxing on their patios or working away in flower beds.
The contrast between the summer and winter British garden is marked, and it’s probably a good time to start thinking about decluttering your garden for winter. Everyone’s garden is different, but if you follow our top 3 tips below, you can make huge strides towards making sure your garden still looks tidy throughout the winter.
Put away summer items
As regrettable as it is, you’re unlikely to use that BBQ or umbrella for the next several months. To avoid these items becoming waterlogged, rusted, or infested with spider webs, it’s best to tuck them somewhere for safekeeping over the winter. Your garden shed or garage is always a safe bet, but you can also seek out our self storage services which are another brilliant solution for your summer item storage needs.
Other items that you might want to remove from the garden and place in storage over the winter include outdoor furniture, small water features, and plastic decor items which may get damaged by severe weather.
Get out the garden tools
Blustery autumn days tend to make for lots of unsightly leaves littering paths and lawns. On top of this, you’ll also likely find moss and other unwanted garden waste on paving stones and grassy areas. Keeping on top of raking up and disposing of these items will make a big difference in keeping your garden looking tidy throughout the colder months.
When it comes to moss growing on your bricks or concrete pathways, a bit of elbow grease will do the trick. A sturdy wire brush or broom will bring up all the moss, but a pressure hose works just as well. Ensuring your garden is free of unsightly moss and dead leaves will certainly make a big difference and prevent the garden from appearing cluttered or unkempt.
Pull up dead or dormant plants
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As autumn fades into winter, we’ll get our last brilliant glimpse of colourful foliage. And unfortunately, what we’re left with is often a tangled mass of dead and brown eyesores. Annuals should be pulled up. Perennials should be cut back rather than pulled up to ensure they return next year, but dormant stalks, stems, and leaves can add to the cluttered look of a winter garden. Prune and tidy these plants, either disposing of the clippings or add them to the compost pile.
You should also take the opportunity to examine any plants that have simply died over recent seasons, or look like they won’t survive the winter. Potting delicate plants and bringing them inside or placing them in the conservatory can help improve their chances of surviving until spring.