Did you know that you can still do plenty of gardening in the winter!? Here are 20 ideas to get those green fingers moving!
1. Grow some winter salads!
I’ve been experimenting with a few quick cropping salad leaves in my Vegepod, see my how-to video below:
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2. Plant bareroot plants
Trees and fruit plants will especially benefit from a winter planting. The plants are dormant, and easier to transplant than during the height of summer! Here’s a quick video guide:
3. Get creative with dried flowers indoors!
It’s the flower vase that lasts forever, just remember to give them a dust from time to time! I’ve recently been sent a bunch of Bloom & Wild and I love them!
4. Create some moss wall art!
Use preserved moss for a super low maintenance wall feature!
5. Delve into the wonderful world of aquascaping.
This is basically ‘underwater gardening’. It’s fun and addictive, and you may even want to add some fish too! Listen to our podcast with Scaped Nature here.
6. Grow some windowsill herbs for fresh herbal tea!
For longer lasting supermarket herbs, why not invest in a Boskke self-watering container too? Buy it here.
7. Grow microgreens for undiluted veggie goodness!
Grow in eggshells like you used to with cress at school, but with microgreens you get more than just green coloured hair!
8. Sow cactus and succulent seeds
They can pretty much be sown all year round, and the joy of watching a cactus develop from embryo to adult is kinda amazing!
9. Try out grow lights
This accelerates your indoor growth, and keeps your plants happy. They’ll almost believe they’re in the wild! There are many kinds; these are good for smaller spaces.
10. Trim and tidy borders…
…and discard summer bedding plants, for better hygiene! The less decaying growth you lay around in your borders, the better. Although wildlife will thank you if you make sure an area is set aside to stay wild.
11. Cut some beautiful shrub stems for winter vases
Look out for Witch-hazel and Wintersweet – two of my favourites!
12. Floralise!
If you’re feeling a little crazy, why not “floralise” some of your household items, see Ellen’s video below!
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13. Have a play with airplants indoors
Make yourself a garden full of these easy maintenance gems. There’s no messy soil, and they’ll forgive you if you forget to water them every week!
14. Make a wreath
There are tonnes of different options, from succulents to traditional Holly. Here are a few ideas.
15. Invest in some Christmas plants
Here are a few tips on getting the best out of Poinsettia, Cyclamen and Christmas Cactus!
16. Decorate your Christmas tree
If you’ve opted for a Christmas tree, I hope you’ve chosen a fresh one! Keep it in tip-top condition with my secrets to success here!
17. Have a walk…
…and spot the winter wildflowers, such as Snowdrops, who will be showing their heads from late January onwards.
18. Start sowing seeds indoors
If you’re looking to grow bedding plants such as Pelargoniums, sowing early gives best results! It’s worth investing in a heated propagator for the purpose.
19. Feed the birds
Put out fat balls to keep their energy up, and make sure they have plenty of fresh water. Here’s my winter bird spotting guide.
20. Mulch
The magic ingredient for happy plants is mulch – use well-rotted manure to refresh your soil in the winter, forking it in to add that nutrient boost! Boom!
For more gardening inspiration this winter, why not follow the new initiative #GardenLockdownJobs on Twitter?
Michael has been involved with gardening and plants since he was just five years old. He is a self-professed Plant Geek, and was listed in the Sunday Times top 20 most influential people in the gardening world, thanks to his plant hunter role at Thompson & Morgan.
Michael was responsible for new plant introductions such as the Egg and Chips plant and the FuchsiaBerry and keeps busy travelling the world in search of new plants as well as lecturing worldwide, including stints in Japan. He is very active on social media – so why not give him a follow at @mr_plantgeek or Facebook – and writes a plant-focused Substack called Grow This, Not That.
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