For many people, it’s far too easy to look at a beautiful garden in July and assume it only took a month or so of work to achieve that that eye-catching beauty. The truth is that creating, maintaining and protecting a garden is often a year-round process, and it’s one that can involve a significant amount of work.
It’s worth noting, however, that as soon as you embrace this concept you can start to enjoy the seasonal comings and goings of landscape gardening in Scotland and all over the UK. For every day of admiring the splendour of a summer garden, there will have been a day in winter that involved plenty of effort.
In general, January and February are the coldest months in the UK. Gardening doesn’t come to a halt at this time, however, so get ready to don some warm clothing and to think about protecting your precious garden assets. Winter scald and frozen roots can lead to a great deal of damage to your plants, but they can be avoided.
Mulch, remove, cover…mulch, remove, cover
One of the more effective actions is to mulch. Spreading an organic mulch will help to add nutrients to the soil, and this is a process that can be started in late autumn, long before the coldest weather starts to hit. And of course, removing smaller delicate plants into a greenhouse can be crucial.
Those plants that remain outside can benefit from being covered up during the harshest spells. Blankets and burlap sacks are useful, and specialist fabric for fruit trees are available from various outlets. As always, landscape gardeners in Scotland will be able to offer a great deal of advice and support during the winter season.
The rewards for being so cautious in the winter will be there for all to see when the spring and summer come around. There are few things in life more satisfying than sitting back in July with a glass of wine and admiring your beautiful garden, especially when you take into account the preventative work you carried out in the winter.
Brown Earth Landscapes are based in Perth & Kinross, specialising in the type of garden design Scotland can trust. To find out more, call 01250 884 342.
