Winter is not the ideal time for gardening, but if you would like to keep your outdoor living space looking its best during the cold weather months, you are going to need some simple garden ideas that will help you do just that. The first step in winter gardening is knowing what you can and can't do, if you want to avoid losing money and all the time and effort you put into your project.
What Winter Plants Can I Add to my Garden for a Little Pizzazz?
If you want to add a little character to a winter garden, just add a variety of winter loving plants to make your outdoor living space pop.
Flowering Quince. This plant is extremely hardy and virtually indestructible. The flowering quince is a thorny bush that can grow up to eight feet wide. It has beautiful flower blossoms in the winter and makes a great natural fencing feature.
Mock Rush. This plant is also very hardy. It's a member of the fountain grass family and its ornamental grasses will grow beautifully upwards through the snow to give your garden some much needed texture in the dull winter months.
Winterberry. This plant is a beautiful version of the holly. It loses its leaves in the fall leaving behind amazing sprays of red berries. You will need a male and female version though, if you want to get the berries.
What Can I Use to Add Some Appealing Effects to my Winter Garden?
There are plenty of unique ways you can use ordinary items to make your winter garden more attractive.
Vintage Wheelbarrow. These are great for planting annual flowers in the summer, then filling them with winter accents during the colder months. You could add some pine branches with some dried eucalyptus, pinecones and some Winterberry holly's for a touch of color.
Decorative Bowls. A nice earthen decorator bowl filled with acorns, holly berries, pinecones, dried gourds and any other color filled items you have to dress up your garden. You can place these strategically throughout your backyard space for added pops of color. You could also use hanging baskets or baskets mounted on your fence or other yard features. Just make sure you treat the berries with a commercially available wax spray to lock in the moisture and keep them fresh.
Birdhouses. A birdhouse or two is always a great accent for any garden and they look especially appealing when the snow starts to fly. You can hang them on a tree or on a post in the ground. Then you can add some wisps of color around the posts using holly berries, pine branches with pine cone accents or you can add some seasonal holiday decorations like a wreath and so on.
Mini Pergola with a Vintage Town. You can build a mini pergola, then add a miniature vintage town underneath it complete with a train, lamp posts, street signs, general store, horse and buggies, fencing, people, and so on. Similar to a Christmas village that you would use to decorate the inside of your home during the Christmas season.
How Can I Add Some Lighting to my Winter Garden?
Nothing makes a garden more attractive than lighting features. You can do so many different things with lighting by being creative and adding some of your own personal style to enhance your outdoor living space for the winter. Additionally, your lighting features can be kept in place throughout the warmer months as well, if that's what you choose to do.
Tower of Lights. Designing a tower of lights is a unique way to add some lighting to your garden. All you have to do build a small pergola type structure with a few levels of shelves. Then you simply hang a solar lantern from each level, making an attractive tower of lights.
Mounted Solar Lanterns. You can mount solar lanterns with decorative wrought iron hangers on your fence, trees, deck posts, house or anywhere else you need light. These make a nice accent for your back yard and throughout your landscaping.
String Lights. These can be hung around the tops of your fencing, around your deck, under your pergolas and patio umbrellas, along the base of your keystone paver borders, from treetop to treetop or you can wrap them around the bases of your trees.
Glow in the Dark Planters. This is probably one of the most unique ways to add a little light to your backyard; however, this is more of an effect than it is lighting, although it will give you some light and it's really easy to do. You just buy glow in the dark spray paint (make sure you follow the application directions on the can) and apply it to some planters then place them around your yard. Additionally, this is an extremely inexpensive project as the paint is only a few dollars per can, but it will make a huge impact on the look of your outdoor living space.
The Bottom Line
There are so many simple garden ideas you can implement in the winter months that you will probably hardly miss your warm weather gardening projects at all. And winter gardening projects take on a whole new meaning once you add your own personality and creative style that will make your home a place you will never want to leave. So when looking for your new home, just imagine all the wonderful things you could do to your garden that will enhance your quality of life and make it a place you are proud to call home.
2 Point Highlight
1. The first step in winter gardening is knowing what you can and can't do, if you want to avoid losing money and all the time and effort you put into your project.
2. How Can I Add Some Lighting to my Winter Garden?
