Winter garden transformation: 9 essential jobs to do before Christmas

As autumn gives way to winter, gardens can still offer plenty of colour and interest, from striking plant stems to evergreens that take centre stage once the leaves have fallen.

There are also a number of jobs to tackle before the festive season, from clearing borders to preparing outdoor spaces for the colder weather.

“There are also plenty of jobs to do before gardeners can put their feet up and get the seed catalogues out for next year,” says Mandy Warry, plant buyer at British Garden Centres. “This is a good time to get outdoor spaces ready so they look really inviting for the festive season.”

Whether you’re tidying up flower beds or adding some colour to your winter garden, here’s what the experts recommend doing before Christmas.

Spruce up the borders

It’s a messy time in the garden with all the straggly plants. Warry says, “If you like your garden to be tidy, then clear borders and leaf debris, or you can leave it for wildlife habitat.”

She suggests mulching borders with a layer of wood bark chips or compost to suppress any winter weeds. “It also just tidies the garden and keeps worms and wildlife occupied pulling it around and into the soil over winter.”

Again it’s important to leave perennials for the wildlife. Warry says, “Sedums, phlomis seed heads, anything with berries on, and anything with the shape and form you could leave in the borders.

“But do remove any diseased or rotting material and fallen fruit to protect your garden from overwinter disease.”

Ground control

This is the perfect time to renovate the lawn. “Scarify to remove dead moss, aerate with a garden fork, reseed bare patches, and then use a dedicated autumn feed to strengthen the root system.

“And don’t forget when doing your final lawn cuts, make sure that you raise the mower blades.”

Nobody likes looking out the window and seeing a green patio. Warry is mindful some areas still have hosepipe bans, “Clean down stoneware patio areas with minimal use of water to avoid a build-up of moss and algae that gets slippy in the wet.”

Cold protection

“Lift your pots and containers off the floor for the winter with pot feet or slide some broken tiles or wood underneath,” says Warry. “Getting some aeration underneath prevent the pots from cracking in the cold, but also to allow any excess water to drain away out of the pot so your plants don’t rot.”

If you’re a keen gardener, you might want to take cuttings of tender plants, so that you’ve got stock for the following year. And she adds, “If you need to protect tender plants, either bring them into a conservatory, or wrap the whole pot in a blanket or hessian, just short term, if the temperatures drop very low.”

Evergreens come alive

“When they’ve got less competition, evergreens come alive in the winter months,” says Jonathan Webster, curator and head gardener at RHS Garden Rosemoor.

“With evergreens you could go for variegated foliage. There are some really lovely hollies, such as a hedgehog holly which has got beautiful spiky, creamy-tinged green variegation.”

He adds, “The popular small shrub Christmas box or sweet box has a nice green foliage, but underneath it has beautiful small white flowers and the scent just knocks you out.”

While British Garden Centres’ Warry suggests planting box evergreens in pots. “Bay trees, box trees, spiral, yews or conifer boxes will give your garden shape and interest – and look very pretty strung with fairy lights.”

Winter flowering

Summer blooms may have faded but there are flowers that shine in the cold.

Warry says, “Chunky scented hyacinths and paper white narcissi look beautiful outdoors but can also be planted in pots to bring indoors for Christmas displays.

“Out in the garden, vibrant cyclamen or shade-loving hellebores, which are often called the Christmas rose, are classic plants for winter interest with their delicate shades of green, pink and white.”

RHS gardener Webster is a fan of mahonias with their clusters of yellow flowers and black berries.

“Shrubs with a winter scent like daphnes are beautiful. And cornus dogwood with its colourful orange red stems will provide a bit of interest when all the leaves have fallen.”

He adds, “Or if you have room, you could plant a small tree Himalayan birch with its stunning peeling white bark that turns orange or pink.”

Festive planters

“Give pots and planters a refresh for winter and plant some wonderful autumn and winter arrangements of conifers, trailing ivy, cyclamen and heathers, even painted ones – anything that’s bright and cheerful.”

“And you’ve always got the jolly winter-flowering pansies and violas for a splash of colour.”

Warry also suggests adding a protective layer, “If you’re planting autumn pots, line them with bubble wrap on the inside.”

And if you’re growing a real potted Christmas tree, she warns though not to bring the tree in too early. “Leave it as late as possible or the warm indoor air will make it think spring has arrived.”

Natural habitats

“Any plants that keep its berries over winter such as pyracanthas, cotoneasters and crabapple trees and rowan trees will get eaten by the birds,” says Warry. “But they’re also decorative and colourful.”

Anything that’s got seed heads left in it, like teasels, rudbeckia and sunflowers, should also be left for the birds. “It will encourage goldfinches and chaffinches to come down and feed off them. But if January is very cold, then the birds will appreciate suet balls, peanuts, and natural seeds.”

Kerbside appeal

It’s never too early to start decorating your front door with autumnal wreaths and garlands.

RHS gardener Webster suggests making your own winter wreath. He says, “Use bendy branches of hazel or willow to make the ring and weave sprigs of holly with berries into it, or even bits of dogwood, or conifer with the cones.”

Warry is all about the lights, and says, “Give the garden a bit of festive twinkle by draping nets of solar fairy lights around shaped bushes. Deciduous trees that have lost their leaves have really nice shapes which are enhanced with strings of lights.

“Or add clusters of potted plants dotted with lights along a garden path, or even little lanterns or fairy lights crumpled into jam jars for a wintry glow.”

Bring the outdoors in

Make the most of getting outside in the winter and create a cosy seating space with cushions and blankets around a fire pit or space heater.

Warry says, “We had a mild winter last year, so perhaps after going for a walk in the fresh air, come back and have a glass of mulled wine around the fire pit.”