Four-week garden planner for winter

There’s no reason to let a little cold weather stop you from enjoying your garden. Depending on where you live, there are planting, feeding and pruning jobs you can do over the next few months, and it’s also a great time to explore some of the lovely winter-flowering shrubs and foliage plants that bring colour to the garden at this time of year. Then there are those landscape improvement jobs you’ve been meaning to tackle… how about now? Read on and take inspiration from our four-weekend garden planner that will get your patch in top-notch condition ahead of spring’s arrival.

Tip: Always wear the appropriate safety equipment (safety glasses, gloves, ear muffs and a mask, for example) and always follow the instructions for the product or equipment.

 

Weekend 1: Sow your favourite cool-season vegies

• Frost free planting: In frost-free areas, plant seedlings of winter favourites like broad beans, spinach, peas and snow peas, onions and spring onions. It’s also the best planting time for two of the favourite (and long-lived) residents of the vegie patch: rhubarb and asparagus. Both are sold as ‘crowns’ (clumps of roots) at this time of year.
• Add colour with a cymbidium orchid: Pretty up your house, verandah or garden with a cymbidium orchid, in bloom now. With their long spikes of wax-like flowers in stunning colours, they look fabulous in containers and are very easy to grow. In frost-free areas they’ll grow happily outside (dappled light is best), while in cold climates give them a bright spot indoors or grow them in a conservatory or greenhouse. The flowers last for months.
• Protect young sapplings from the frost: If you live in a cold climate zone, plan ahead for frosty nights, so you don’t lose any of your special plants. To protect young tree saplings, use a triangle of stakes wrapped in bubble wrap – you can throw a cover over the top at night. For frost-sensitive potted plants, move them inside or find a protected spot against a sunny north-facing wall.
• Plant tomatoes in warmer climates: In tropical and sub-tropical areas, early winter is a great time for tomato planting, as the plants will produce a crop when fruit flies aren’t active. Plant seedlings into garden beds, or large pots, and feed regularly with soluble fertiliser.

Weekend 2: Turn your sights to a winter garden project

• Install a greenhouse: If you’ve always promised yourself a greenhouse, now is the perfect time to install one. There are options for spaces big and small, with a range of compact walk-in designs that can be self-assembled, and that even include basic shelving. In cooler climate zones, greenhouses are great for raising seedlings or protecting cold-sensitive plants through the winter months.
• Plant roses and deciduous fruit trees: It’s peak time for buying and planting roses and deciduous fruit trees, both of which are sold as bare-rooted plants at this time of year. By spring, these dormant ‘bare sticks’ will burst forth with new buds and foliage.
• Create an above-ground vegie patch: In a small backyard with no garden beds, consider installing a few raised garden beds to create an above-ground vegie patch. Available in ready-made form, and in a variety of sizes, they’re easy to set up – fill them with soil mix and you’re ready to go. Place them in the sunniest part of the garden, and make sure there’s easy access to a hose for watering.
• Add colour to your garden: Pretty up your garden with a few pots filled with polyanthus, primulas and pansies. Cyclamen are another great option for outdoor containers in a shady sheltered spot.

Weekend 3: Prune your garden and start growing winter herbs

• Prepare your tools for pruning season: A good-quality pair of sharp secateurs is your main weapon, so if yours have become a little rusty, clean the blades with steel wool and oil the joints. A pruning saw is essential for cutting through larger branches, while extendable pole pruners are great for reaching high growth.
• Winter native plants: Take a cue from the bush and seek out some of the native plants that flower during winter. They will bring colour and birdlife to your own garden year after year. Correa, wax flower (Philotheca sp), wattles, Geraldton wax and climbing hardenbergia are all excellent choices for the garden.
• Liquid-feed bulbs: These include daffodils, bluebells and tulips that are forming their flower buds. Use a ‘flower and fruit’ fertiliser.
• Grow herbs: While things are quiet in the vegie patch, turn your attention to growing herbs. Many varieties flourish through the cooler months of the year, including coriander, parsley, dill, chervil and winter savory. Plant up a trough of mixed varieties by the back door, so they’re easy to water and then to harvest when you’re cooking.

Weekend 4: Set up the garden for a splendid spring

• Cut back your garden: Just ahead of spring, cut back ornamental grasses and kangaroo paws with hedge shears to stimulate a burst of new growth when the weather warms. Give salvia and lavender the same treatment.
• Seek out trees that bloom in spring: Choose magnolias and spring-blossom trees to plant while they’re in bloom. That way you’ll get the flower colour you’re after.
• Prepare and weed your lawn in winter: Before the lawn bursts back into active growth, give it a weed check and remove any invaders before they get a chance to regrow. Bindii, with its little rosettes of fern-like leaves, is best eradicated now, either manually or by using a suitable weedicide spray.
• Late winter is citrus feeding time: Spread the fertiliser beneath the outer branches of the tree (where the feeder roots are located), scratch it in lightly and water generously. Top with a layer of mulch and water well again. This is also a great time of year to plant a new citrus tree, as long as all danger of frost has passed.

Guide to pruning a garden correctly

Midwinter is the ideal time to prune deciduous plants while they’re dormant and bare of leaves – think roses, hydrangeas, deciduous fruiting and ornamental trees, and grapevines. Evergreen trees and shrubs can be pruned and shaped in winter, too, but you can leave them until late August, just ahead of their burst of new growth. The same goes for citrus trees, as it’s important to avoid any risk of frost. Things to remember are:

• Make cuts just above an outward-facing bud, on a 45-degree angle.
• When pruning roses, first remove any dead wood and criss-crossing branches, then trim back all remaining stems by a third to a half.

Keep in mind...

• Wear gloves and a mask when handling mulch, compost and potting mix and also when pruning, along with long sleeves, as the leaves and sap of some plants can be a skin irritant and cause allergic reactions.
• Store garden chemicals and products out of reach of children and pets.

Looking for tips on what to plant in your patch?

Check out our growing guides for each month and region of Australia.

Photo credit: GAP Photos/ Brent Wilson, Getty Images, Cath Muscat, Adobe Stock.