We have clients who are understandably cautious about hiring landscapers during the winter months. Worries about lost days, due to inclement weather, and the impact of heavy footfall and machinery on wet gardens, are a natural concern.
At Greengage our staff our used to working in all weathers. They have specialist kit and PPE and know how to keep warm and dry. It is rare to cancel a day or even a few hours due to wet weather.
We install a gazebo over machinery / sections of build as needed to keep the area dry and workable. The team are naturally obsessive over the weather forecast and jobs are organised around the forecast. It can even help mortar and grout as they need a slow set, so in summer you can be adding water to allow for this.
Benefits of hard landscaping in winter
You are able to see the area more clearly and get to areas more easily. Growth is dormant and trees and shrubs have been cleared or cut back and you will also be less likely to cause them damage. Spring is for planting, summer is for relaxing and having the hard landscaping completed means you have the rest of the year to enjoy it. Better than having parts of your garden or even the whole garden out of action, or not looking its best, right when you want to be in the thick of it.
In winter you may even spot the jobs that need doing more easily, those walls that need repairing, or that shed that needs reinforcing no longer hidden under plants.
It is also beneficial to the wildlife too, you are less likely to disturb them in the winter and our landscapers are big wildlife lovers so this is a big draw knowing that lots of creatures are safely tucked out of the way!
Inevitably there is noise and disruption during landscaping and both you and your neighbours are much more likely to be indoors during the winter keeping that noise to a minimum.
Benefits of soft landscaping in winter
As long as the ground isn’t frozen, it is the perfect time to transplant current trees, shrubs and bushes where you can see where they will be ideally placed.
It is also the ideal time, now nesting is finished, for those large pruning jobs. Do ask our gardeners though, as different plants need doing throughout the year.
You can spot those dead plants and shrubs more easily when growth has died back and you can give your garden a really good tidy up.
We put sections of the garden and allotment ‘to sleep’ and follow the no dig method. You add compost and cardboard to the soil, cover with membrane and sit back and look forward to spring with no weeds and a beautifully healthy soil. This will give you a chance to focus on other areas of your garden during the winter.
Other jobs for winter
Clean ponds, add nets to prevent leaves and pop a floating ball into prevent ice from covering the whole pond
Rake grass and remove moss
Clean patios and decks
Plant trees
Trim lawns edges
If you are still unsure about whether winter landscaping is for you then you could still call on the services of a garden designer during this time. A blank canvas will be a great starting point to begin working with you to create your perfect garden. It is especially worth considering if you are using your garden effectively all year round, and considering whether you can add some hard landscaping to improve this.
Who wouldn’t love a BBQ hut for winter evenings or a feature path leading to the shed to stop getting muddy slippers? Perhaps it is safety that is more important, are your steps or patio slippy and in need of replacing or jet washing? Or is your patio dangerous and uneven and needs replacing?
Our Head landscaper, Jude, is always happy to chat through any concerns realistically and with the benefits of years of experience. Or you can email enquiries@greengage.org.uk or ring me, Jennie, in the warm and cosy office on 01458224576.
Words: Jennie Eastick, Amateur gardener and Office Manager