Preparing Your Outdoor Spaces for the Winter Months

Gardening is an activity that’s highly seasonal. During spring and summer, you might find there aren’t enough hours in the day to do all the things you’d like to do. During autumn and winter, however, there’s a definite slowdown.

But that doesn’t mean that you can afford to put your feet up. Now is the time to get a number of essential tasks done, so that you can put your outdoor space in the best position to recover when the seasons change again.

Inspect and Repair Outdoor Structures

At this time of year, cold and damp can inflict considerable damage on outdoor structures. Look around for any obvious signs that repairs are needed. Rusted hinges and loose boards might be replaced at this point, before they have a chance to deteriorate further.

Protect Plants and Garden Beds

Extreme cold can pose a danger to delicate plants – and to hardier ones, too. For this reason, you might want to cover the former in special frost cloths. This will not only protect those plants against frost but help soil to warm up faster by trapping sunlight in the same way as a greenhouse.

Mulch might also be applied to your flowerbeds. During summer, this helps to prevent the soil from drying out. During winter, on the other hand, it will act as a warming blanket for the roots of your plants.

Clean and Store Garden Furniture

Since you probably aren’t going to be using your garden furniture at this time of year, it’s a good idea to put them into storage. This might mean a suitably dry area inside the house, an outbuilding, or just a weather-resistant cover. Before you do this, however, you’ll want to give the items in question a thorough clean, to get rid of dirt and mildew.

Maintain Pathways and Driveways

The walkways in your garden serve an essential function. They allow people to move through the space without trampling across lawns and flowerbeds. But walkways can also pose a safety hazard. Select the right materials for your pathways, and you’ll minimise this problem. For many, porcelain paving is an excellent choice, thanks to its low water absorption, and slip-resistant properties. Just make sure that you’ve selected a suitably textured sort of tile.

Prepare Outdoor Lighting

During winter, the daylight hours are going to be fewer. Make sure, therefore, that you have enough lighting to keep the space easy to navigate when evening draws in. You might go for a combination of nice-looking smaller lights, perhaps arranged around pathways, as well as motion-activated security lights.

Gutter and Drainage System Maintenance

During winter, drains and gutters can quickly become clogged with debris. This can lead to water damage around the base of structures and buildings, and lead to a variety of other problems. If your house happens to stand near tall trees, this can be a particular problem. Be as proactive as possible, and deal with blockages before the next spell of wet weather.

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