Tips for Creating a Winterproof Garden

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When autumn/winter comes around, it can be tempting to close the patio doors, lock the windows and pretend that your garden doesn’t exist… for a little while anyway.

Sooner or later, your garden will thaw and there will be weeds, damage and jobs to be done if you want it to look its best for spring. You can avoid all of these problems by creating a winterproof garden! Here are our top tips to help your garden survive the harshest temperatures.

Choose Strong and Durable Materials

If you want to create an outdoor space that can withstand anything, you should look for materials with a long lifespan and durable properties. It’s no good choosing cheap, poorly made materials because they won’t be able to cope with the unforgiving conditions.

One of the worst materials for a winterproof garden is natural timber decking. Although real-wood performs well in the summer, it can crack and warp during the winter months. This happens when water absorbed by the boards freezes and expands, turning your deck into an ice rink and causing the wood grain to separate and split.

If you want to create a deck that’s capable of withstanding harsh weather, I’d recommend choosing composite decking. This hybrid material combines wood fibres with a tough polymer coating that helps to keep the boards intact whatever the weather. Unlike real wood, composite decking has a very low porosity, so won’t take on water and encounter the same problems as real wood!

Keep it Low-Maintenance

When it comes to gardening, there are very few people who want to be outside in the freezing cold pulling up weeds and mowing the lawn. A simple solution – keep your garden as easy to maintain as possible. Nowadays, it’s not unusual for busy homeowners to swap their lawn for something like a porcelain patio that requires a fraction of the maintenance and looks contemporary too.

Compared to grass, porcelain pavers are very easy to maintain. Where grass will need cutting, treating and weeding… especially in the winter, porcelain paving will only need a simple wipe over during spring/summer, meaning you won’t have to head out in the freezing cold to keep it looking good.

Put things under cover

How many times have you gone into the garden in spring to realise that your garden furniture has rusted in the wet and cold conditions? It can be infuriating, especially when you spend a lot of money making your garden look nice.

One way of avoiding this is to put your garden furniture under cover. Of course, you could pop everything in a garden shed, but you probably run the risk of it being damaged there too (particularly if your garden shed is old and leaky).

Why not make the most of your garden furniture through the winter months, as well as keeping it safe, by popping everything inside a garden room? As well as giving your chairs and tables a new home for the winter, glass rooms and verandas can be a great hangout spot all year round.

These are just a few different ways to make your garden winterproof. A combination of durable, low-maintenance materials and sheltered spaces can really make all the difference during the cold months.