Look after yourself and your garden this winter

Gardening has a whole host of health benefits. Research shows it can help you feel better, help you lose weight, and increase your quality of life.

It could also help with your cooking. Most of us eat too much salt, which over time can raise blood pressure and raise your risk of stroke, so adding herbs that you’ve grown could be a great way to add flavour without salt.

With many of us spending more time at home, gardening can also help to brighten up your surroundings, both indoor and outdoor.

Here are a few things you can do to keep gardening over the winter months. And if the weather’s bad, some of them can still be done indoors.

Jump straight to:

• Plan ahead
• Tidy up
• Grow your own heart-healthy vegetables and fruit
• Protect your herbs from winter weather
• Add instant brightness
• Make your garden wildlife-friendly

1. Plan ahead

Have a think about what you would like to achieve in your garden over the coming year. It could be something small or something more ambitious. What do you want your garden (or balcony, or windowsill, or pot plants) to look like?

Some questions you might find it useful to ask yourself:

Would you like flowers, or foliage, fruit and veg, or perhaps some herbs for scent or flavour?

What growing space do you have? What plants will do well in the amount of space and the amount of light you can offer them? If you’re growing them outdoors, what kind of soil and weather conditions do you have? There are lots of useful websites, such as the Royal Horticultural Society and Gardener’s World, that can give you tips on how to grow specific plants, including how much space and sunlight they need.

If you want to grow roses, you can plant roses in containers at any time of year, while bare root roses (often the best quality and value) are best planted from late winter to early spring.

You can plan ahead for jobs that will need doing, too. You can use these websites to check the best time to do garden tasks that might be coming up, such as pruning any trees or shrubs. Why not put them in your diary now?

Now is also a good time to order your seeds for anything you’re planning to grow over the coming months, as well as stocking up on any other equipment you need (like plant pots or compost).

2. Tidy up

This is a great time to tidy the garden, so that it’s ready for the months ahead. You could:

• Add fresh compost to your soil so that it’s full of nutrients for spring
• Give your shed or greenhouse a tidy
• Sharpen your tools and service your mower if you have one, so they’re ready for the spring
• Bring any soft furnishings inside
• Sweep away dead leaves (although a bit of untidiness can be good for wildlife – see tip 5)
• Dig up any annuals that have died after the summer season, or tubers such as begonias and dahlias if you want to lift and store them for next year
• Cover any delicate plants, or if they’re in pots, move them to somewhere sheltered to protect them from harsh weather
• Weeds tend to grow less in winter, but it’s still a good idea to remove them regularly to keep your growing space in good condition
• Keep an eye out for and tackle pests like slugs and snails that can damage your plants
• If you have foxes, cats, squirrels or rabbits in your area, you can buy mesh or netting covers for your garden to keep them off your plants.

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3. Grow your own heart-healthy vegetables and fruit

Winter is still a good time to plant onions, spring onions, peas or broad beans to harvest next year. Garlic also can be planted in the winter, as well as bare root fruit trees, raspberries and blackberries. Most of these crops are easy to grow and suffer few pests and diseases, so they’re great for the beginner gardener.

You can even grow vegetables indoors, such as on a windowsill. You’ll need to pick the right varieties. Lettuce is one of the easiest vegetables to grow indoors, as are chilli peppers, radishes, spring onions, and carrots (as long as you have a deep enough container). Leafy greens can also be grown inside, including watercress, sorrel, spinach, and kale, which all grow in moderate light levels.

4. Protect your herbs from winter weather

Herbs are great for growing indoors or on balconies during the winter as they can get affected by frost. If you need to grow herbs in the garden it’s best to keep them in drainage pots, so that the roots don’t get waterlogged (mint does like wet soil, but can spread, so it’s still best kept in a pot so it doesn’t take over).

Put potted herbs like oregano, thyme, sage and rosemary against a wall or the side of the house or garage to reduce the amount of rain hitting them.

Why not grow your own herb garden, by planting chives, mint, parsley, and thyme, all of which are easy to care for? You can even keep things simple by buying your favourite herbs from the supermarket and re-planting them into larger pots for your window box or windowsill.

• Read our guide to using herbs and spices

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5. Add instant brightness

Winter doesn’t mean you can’t have anything growing. We have some ideas on how to make your garden (or in your home) brighter:

• Head to your garden centre and pick up some winter flowering plants for an instant lift. Winter-flowering pansies and primulas are usually cheap to buy and easy to grow
• Buy some pot-plants for your home. If cash is short, do you have green-fingered friends that will let you take cuttings from their plants? Some plants are easy to grow from cuttings – the internet has plenty of how-to guides for specific plants
• Invest in some evergreen shrubs, many of are resilient in winter. Or buy some plants that will add some winter interest, for example with winter flowers or coloured stems. Again, you could consider if you can take cuttings from friends’ plants
• Try some decorations to brighten up your garden – depending on budget, you could think anything from stars made from empty drinks cans to tinsel, or outdoor lights or a garden mirror to brighten it up.

6. Make your garden wildlife-friendly

Look out for the wildlife in your area by:

• leaving food out for birds such as seeds and fallen fruit. A feeder and bird bath are great items to make your garden bird friendly. Leaving seed heads on your plants can also help to feed the birds
• making a house or leaf pile for hedgehogs. You could leave a small dish of water and some dog or cat food out for them too. The British Hedgehog Society has more information
• creating a habitat for insects and bees by tying up some bamboo shoots or sticks and leaving them in a dry spot
• creating a rock pile or compost bin for frogs.

Making gardening fun for children

 

For children, getting involved by planting their own herbs, vegetables, or flowers and watching them grow will give them a sense of achievement. Encourage their curiosity by asking them to spot different insects that can be found among the garden plants. Get creative and help them decorate planting labels, or ask them to draw all the things they spot in the garden. Growing their own winter veg or planting evergreens can often encourage children to try new things, too.

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