Winter: when the garden shows its bones

People often ask me what there is to do in the garden in winter. More than you’d think, and some of the most satisfying work of the year happens now.

With the leaves down you can see the framework of the garden clearly: the hedges, the paths, the shape of the trees and the spaces in between. That framework is what carries a garden through the colder months, and it’s the first thing I look at when I design one.

Structure that earns its place

Clipped yew and a well-kept hornbeam or beech hedge, holding on to its coppery leaves, give a garden shape when everything else has gone quiet. Multi-stemmed trees like amelanchier show off their branching against a winter sky, and grasses left standing catch the frost beautifully on a cold, bright morning. If your garden feels empty from November to March, it usually needs more of this permanent structure rather than more flowers.

Pruning while the garden sleeps

Winter is the time to prune apple and pear trees while they’re dormant, opening up the centre and taking out crossing or diseased wood. Leave plums and cherries alone until summer, as cutting them now invites silver leaf disease.

Wisteria gets its second prune of the year in January or February. Take the side shoots from last summer back to two or three buds and you’ll be rewarded with far more flowers. Roses can be pruned towards the end of winter, just as the buds begin to swell.

Planting and protecting

As long as the ground isn’t frozen or waterlogged, bare-root trees and hedging can go in right through the winter. Check tree stakes and ties after a storm. It also pays to keep off the lawn when it’s frosty or sodden, and to raise pots onto feet so they drain freely and don’t crack in a hard freeze.

A good time to build and plan

Much of my landscaping work happens in winter. Paths, terraces, steps and walls can all be built while the planting is dormant, so the garden is ready to grow into come spring.

It’s also the best time to sit down together over a plan. If you’ve been thinking about changing your garden, a conversation now means the hard landscaping can be finished and the planting in the ground for the first warm days of the year.

Wrap up and get out there on a bright day.

Rob