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Although it may be freezing outside, there are plenty of winter garden activities for families to enjoy. Some may involve getting wrapped up and heading outdoors, while others allow you to stay cosy in the warmth of your home. There really is an activity to suit everyone.
Here are some lovely winter gardening activities for all the family to take part in this winter…
Enjoy the snow (if there is some)
This one might go without saying, but get out into the snow and make the most of it while it lasts. There are all kinds of fun snowy activities, like snowmen competitions and snowball fights. While it’s great to enjoy the snow, it’s best to keep off your lawn in freezing temperatures as you can end up causing damage and preventing growth when spring rolls around. If this is the case, be sure to get some grass seed for when you’re ready to get your lawn back to a lush green state again.
To further protect your lawn, you could book in for a professional lawn treatment in anticipation for the freezing temperatures. This will give your grass the best chance at staying healthy throughout the winter and leave you with a green lawn in summer time. Greensleeves offer a range of lawn treatments to keep your garden in good shape all year round. All their treatments are child friendly, so you don’t have to worry when letting little ones play outdoors.
Another way to make the most of the snowy and icy weather is creating snow angels or ice sculptures. To make a unique sculpture, simply put some leaves or sticks into a cup with water and create unusual shapes.
Protect winter wildlife
Even in freezing temperatures, your garden is still home to plenty of wonderful wildlife. If you have a pond in your garden, place a small ball floating on the top of the water to prevent it from freezing over. This will make sure that no frogs become stuck under the ice with no oxygen.
On top of this, make sure to keep adding food to any bird feeders throughout winter. You could even build a bird shelter to provide birds with a place to hide from the cold. If you’re lucky, birds may even nest in your shelters when spring comes around!
Winter gardening jobs
Whether you’ve got a green thumb or you prefer to leave your gardening to the professionals, there are a number of fun ways to get your kids involved in your winter garden. There are plenty of things that can be done during the winter to prepare your garden for sunnier times. Why not plant some flowers, onion, or garlic bulbs so they’re ready for the springtime. Fruit trees like apples, pears, blueberries and strawberries can also be planted in outdoor pots during the winter so fruit is ready for collecting and eating when the cold weather subsides.
Another winter garden task that can help to teach children about the recycling of waste is composting. You can add food scraps, shredded paper, tea bags, and other suitable materials to a large bottle and then leave it to compost outside in time for spring. Kids will love to watch as the waste slowly turns into nutritious soil to be used on flower beds and vegetable patches around your garden.
Last but not least, there are ways to get stuck into creating a winter garden that don’t involve getting cold. You can grow things on window sills using leftover carrot tops, garlic cloves, celery, or lettuce and watch as the leaves become mini forests. What’s more, you can even start planning your garden for the following season. Spring is the perfect time to start planting a range of delicious vegetables and colourful flowers around your garden and kids will love to help in deciding what to grow.