We all love the garden in the summer, but it can
look miserable and lonely once the cold weather strikes and we no longer feel
like getting out there. If you would like to make your outdoor space look as
amazing during the cold months as it did in the summer, you might want to be
creative and feed the plants, cover the roots, and make them look their best
come rain or shine. Below you will find a few tips on how to make the most out
of your outdoor scenery when you are curled up on the sofa or how to spend more
time in the fresh air despite the colder temperatures outside.
Take Care of Dry Plants
The first thing you will have to take care of is
the dry plants and the trees, bushes. You must remove the dead branches and cut
down the different plants to the root, so they can preserve their energy and
start blooming as soon as the spring arrives. The dry plants and shrubs will
only destroy your garden landscape. Make sure that you get a professional
landscape designer who will be able to determine which varieties are
perennials, and which need to be removed completely from the flowerbeds.
Cut Back Everything
You will need to prepare your garden for the fall
and the winter, too. This means feeding your soil and your grass. Get in touch
with ABC Lawn Care to get help with dealing with
the patches, removing the dry grass, loosening up the soil, and killing the
moss and weed without damaging your lawn. This might also be the right time to
deal with your borders and creating a stone structure or a low wall, fence that
defines the different separate spaces and flower beds in your garden.
Cover Your Patio
In case you enjoyed the summer on your patio, you
might wish you had the same space for entertaining your friends or sharing
intimate moments. The good news is that you can still enjoy the patio if you
create a cover and shelter that will protect you from the elements of the
nature. While it might not be pleasant to sit outside on cold winter nights,
you can still have your morning coffee and even lunch outside on warm, sunny
days,
Create a Heated Shelter
It might also be a good idea to take care of the
heating in your patio, or creating a garden shelter made of bamboo or other materials
that will keep you warm in the winter. There are several great portable heating
solutions that will quickly get you warm in
a small space. You will, however, need to make sure that you are not
allowing the heat to escape through the gaps, and take care of the insulation.
There are some great contemporary gazebos you can erect for the winter and fold
up when the weather turns warm again.
Get a Garden House
In case you would like to enjoy the garden all
year round, you might want to get a garden room erected that has loads of glass
surface to allow you to see nature around you, but also comes with insulation.
You can get various designs of this structure, and some of them come with
double glazing and extra insulation on the roof and wall panels, Just imagine
escaping into this room for a night away from chores and curling up with a book
next to the portable heater, watching the sun set.
Create Holiday Themes
Once the Halloween and Thanksgiving arrive, as
well as Christmas, you can start decorating your front and back yards in the
adequate themes. The good news is that you will be able to use your garden as a
blank canvas, and add light-up decorations that will be a pleasure to look at
from the warmth of your home. Make your friends and neighbors envious by
creating the best holiday themes possible.
Help the Wildlife
One of the things you can try this fall and
winter to engage better with the wildlife is creating shelters for birds and
small animals. Look at your local wildlife charity’s website for tips on how to
help various small animals create a burrow and survive the winter. You might
want to keep your garden safe from predators and keep an eye on the area. You
can set up small cameras around the garden, so you can find out which species
have chosen to survive the cold weather in your garden. Leave the wines and shrubs untouched, if you would like
to create a winter paradise for wildlife.
Plant Berry Bushes
Birds that spend the winter in your garden will
appreciate the berries left on the bushes and shrubs. While generally you might
want to cut these plants back, you will also want to provide food for the
wildlife. If you have a couple of strawberry bushes, a spicebush, or cedar
trees, leave the seeds on for the birds to eat during the winter. You can spend
a lot of time watching American robins if you leave the leaf litter on the
ground, create sheltered alcoves, window ledges.
Bird Feeders
You will also have to take care of the wildlife
by providing them with food and water. While it is more than likely that you
will attract other species as well as birds, such as squirrels, you can make
your feeder less accessible for unwanted animals, Design a bird feeder that has
a very small entrance or has a grille, so it can be only accessed by small
beaks. You might also want to provide a water fountain that provides animals
with fresh drinking water when most of the other sources are frozen during the
cold winter months.
Plant Seedheads
To support small mammals living on the ground
level, you might want to plant a few seedheads that will provide both
food and protection for these species. You might want to plant these in the
spring so they can grow into large bushes and provide cover and shelter for
animals. You will not only provide a hiding place from predators and birds of
prey, but also nutritious food and a new living environment that is insulated
and suitable for nesting.
Trim Your Conifers
In case you would like to create an inviting and beautiful home exterior
in the winter, you might want to shape your conifers in different ways. You can
create a bear, a spiral, a candy cane, or any animal you want. Emphasize the
outline of your creation at night by installing a solar string light and turn
your front yard into a winter wonderland, There are plenty of designs available
for solar string lights and decorative lanterns that will light up your
exterior and make your visitors smile, too.
Decorate Your Trees
Christmas and the New Year should not end in the
house. In fact, you can decorate your trees from the time the nights are
getting longer and change the theme every week. You can use string lights and
solar lamps that don’t require any wiring, and spot lights as well to highlight
the best and most creative designs.
If you would like to make the most out of your
outdoor space during the cold months, you have several options. Spend the
nights and mornings bird watching, look after the wildlife in your garden,
decorate your shrubs and your trees, and create winter themes to impress your
visitors and your neighbors.
