Make The Most Of Your Garden This Winter

While many people retreat indoors as the temperature drops, your winter garden can still be a welcoming space with a bit of foresight and preparation. Imagine sipping a hot drink under a sheltered pergola, gathering with friends around a fire pit, or simply enjoying the peaceful sights and sounds of winter wildlife. With the right additions, your winter garden can be adapted into a cosy area, perfect for unwinding and hosting guests throughout the season. Fear not, gardens need not be bleak during winter; they can burst with colour, scent, and so much more. Here’s how...

What to plant

Winter is a time of energy conservation for many plants, allowing soil, roots, and stems time to store energy and regenerate with the coming spring. Still, it is also a time when carefully selected plants can thrive. 

Keep your garden vibrant by choosing hardy plants that can withstand the cold. There is still plenty of life and colour that can come to a garden, even in the coldest days. Think of the evergreen yew or holly, with its striking red berries that lend a festive touch. Winter-flowering plants such as snowdrops and winter pansies also bring life to your garden with their cheerful blooms. From super early blooming violets to flowering trees that will persist deep into winter, it's possible, especially with a little mulch and some TLC, to keep at least a little colour in your growing space for a lot longer than you might expect.

Amaryllis are exceptionally popular during the winter months, and especially in December. They are a much-beloved plant because of the ease with which they bring a huge amount of colour in a small, easy-to-maintain package. Once they have bloomed and are spent, the bulbs can be dropped in the garden in a spot that gets a few hours of sun, and not only will they come back year after year, but they will also multiply over time as well!

Camelias, known as the Winter Rose, are stunning winter-blooming shrubs that are very hardy and evergreen. Camellias bring a major wow factor to the winter landscape.

Crocuses are a true winter flower in every sense. Plant these small bulbs in the autumn and they will be among the first little leaves pushing up through the snow in late winter to early spring. Pollinators are especially fond of these plants as they provide the first bits of food after the winter’s dearth. Crocuses will come back year after year, quickly multiplying to bring even more colour to the winter garden. 

Stay warm outside

Just because it’s a little frosty outside, it doesn’t mean that you can’t still utilise your garden. With a little imagination, ambient lighting, and most essentially heating, you can create a winter garden that is your very own winter wonderland. 

Enjoying your garden in the winter becomes second nature when it doesn’t look like a plain, barren, space. Choosing evergreen hedges to surround your garden or patio space ensures you can still enjoy deep, green hues in your garden all year round. Tall hedges provide an extra bonus in the colder months by protecting your patio from the wind. Shielding hedges make a great spot for your winter fire pit, table and attract visits from winter birds. 

Investing in a patio heater is an essential must have to keep you warm in the garden throughout the winter months. A good patio heater extends the use of your garden or terrace beyond the summer months, creating a warm and inviting space even as temperatures drop. Not only do patio heaters keep you warm, but the glow from the light can also help create a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

Small outdoor spaces can often be forgotten or overlooked in the winter months, but they are no less valuable than larger ones. If cosy and intimate is your thing, you can create beautiful lighting effects and quickly raise the temperature in a small space with a well-placed patio or wall-mounted heater or lantern. For a relaxing place to take in the season outside, a hanging chair with a thick woollen blanket is a perfect cosy addition to make your ideal happy place for crisp winter nights. 

Best fire pit buys…

For an instant relaxing ambience that is always a crowd-pleaser, a fire pit is the answer. No matter the season, humans have flocked around fire pits for generations, telling tales, eating and relaxing. A pretty addition to an outdoor gathering in summer, winter fire pits have a much more traditional feel. Gathering around a winter fire with hot drinks and blankets brings people together, enjoying the season like never before. Here are a few of our top picks of fire pits. 

Best all rounder 

The Yaheetech 3 in 1 Garden Fire Pit is a 3-in-1 model, perfect for contemporary gardens. This outdoor fire pit can be used to warm your garden, grill your food and even cool your drinks on the hottest days (simply fill with ice and use as a makeshift ice bucket). When it comes to which fire pit fuel to use, you can burn both logs and charcoal. There’s a mesh guard included with the fire pit to prevent burning embers from blowing out, as well as a poker for stoking the fire. The widened edge prevents children from reaching the fire, and it also provides ample space for drinks, plates and snacks. 

Heat only 

Due to its mesh sides, the VonHaus Geo Fire Pit Bowl is one of the best fire pits for sit-down gatherings. Whereas some fire pits only let you feel the warmth of the flames from the top, this gets warmth out to everyone sitting around the sides. This garden fire pit is made from durable steel, with a cut-out geometric pattern on the sides. This means the heat doesn’t get blocked and it’s a design that will let guests feel more of the warmth of the flames. In terms of size, this outdoor fire pit is pretty big. With a diameter of 66.5 cm, there’s plenty of space in the fire bowl to fit a lot of charcoal or logs and it’s large enough for a group of people to sit around at any time. It stands at 64.5 cm which also means it’s at a good height for warming guests – it’s not so low to the ground that it just toasts people’s toes and nothing else. To make things a bit safer, the meshed spark guard to stop sparks from jumping out the fire pit. This also allows a lot of heat to be felt from the top without there being a totally open flame. 

Statement piece 

Dare to be bold with a statement piece and striking design. Make the Heta Tipi Outdoor Firepit your focal point of the garden. This exquisite heating appliance will envelop your outdoor space in a comforting embrace of warmth. This remarkable outdoor firepit, crafted from Corten steel, is specifically designed to withstand the elements, making it the perfect, elegant addition to your patio. This stunning piece comes equipped with a convenient grill, allowing you to savour delicious BBQ delights and elevate your outdoor dining experience as you to unleash your culinary creativity with ease.