Introduction

Winter gardening is not as easy as it seems. Often, your favorite plants will start to look like they need more care than usual. However, there are ways that you can make sure your garden stays beautiful throughout the winter months!

Plant evergreen shrubs for coverage

Evergreen shrubs are a great choice for winter gardening. They provide coverage for your garden, providing privacy, a windbreak and hiding the compost bin from view. Evergreens also help to retain soil moisture which is especially important when growing plants in cold weather conditions.

Some of my favorite evergreen shrubs are:

• Japanese holly (Ilex crenata)
• Burning bush (Euonymus alatus)
• Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Golden Dwarf’)

Wrap up your trees

• Wrap up your trees. You can wrap trees in burlap, straw or plastic to protect them from the cold. The sooner you do this, the better! If possible, have a tree wrapping party with friends and family members to help out. Wrap your trees as soon as it gets cold outside and before they are damaged by frostbite (usually around 32 degrees is when damage begins).

Use mulch to protect your plants

Mulch is a great tool for winter gardeners. It can help protect your plants from the cold, heat, weeds, pests and frost. Mulching can also improve soil health by providing a natural way to add nutrients back into the ground.

Clear snow from perennials and columbines

If you have perennials, columbines and other plants in your yard that are used to the cold, use a shovel or snow blower to clear some snow from them. If you don’t have either of these tools in your arsenal, go out with a broom and brush off the top layer of snow on your plants. This will help keep them warm while they’re dormant this winter.

When clearing the area around your perennials and columbines, be sure not to damage their roots by digging too deep into the ground with a shovel or accidentally pushing up against their stems with a heavy-duty metal blade on a snow blower (like me).

If there is more than two feet of snow on top of everything in your garden—and there probably will be—then wait until spring before attempting any type of gardening activity there again.

Wait for warmer weather for planting new trees and shrubs

The first thing to remember is that trees and shrubs are much more delicate than many other plants, so you need to be extra careful when planting them. The best time to plant a new tree or shrub is in the spring or early summer, before it gets too cold or wet. You can also plant them in late fall if you’re willing to accept that they might not survive the winter.

Here are some tips for planting:

• Wait until your soil is dry enough that it won’t damage roots by absorbing water through them right away (that is, wait until there’s been no rain for several days). If you have clay soil and it hasn’t rained recently, make sure the ground isn’t frozen—if this is the case then wait until after it thaws out before planting anything! If there’s snow on top of your garden bed then don’t try digging into it yet because all those sharp points from their branches would hurt even more than regular dirt from digging around with a shovel handle would do if they had been buried underneath all this time without anything else being placed over top of them yet either!

Winter gardening doesn’t have to be impossible.

Winter gardening doesn’t need to be impossible. It’s actually quite easy, especially if you follow these tips:

• Wear warm clothing. It may not feel like winter outside, but the cold weather will catch up with you if you’re not prepared!
• Make sure to wear gloves when working with your plants and tools. Your hands will thank you later on in life.
• Keep things clean and tidy; this is important for all times of the year but especially during the colder months because mold can form faster outdoors than indoors where it’s warmer (although mold can still grow indoors too).
• Avoid planting any vegetables that require a lot of water during summer or early fall such as tomatoes or peppers since they’ll likely freeze before they’ve had time to produce fruit anyway! Instead stick with crops that are hardy such as broccoli which requires little maintenance once established throughout seasons other than perhaps watering occasionally depending on how hot/dry it gets outside throughout summer months such as July-August when temperatures rise higher than usual due to global warming effects caused by increased carbon emissions from cars driving around town daily without pollution controls installed yet still driving anyways despite having been told otherwise by scientists worldwide about how bad this would be for everyone living here today so just don’t do it anymore okay?

Conclusion

Winter gardening can be fun and rewarding. It’s a great way to get outdoors and enjoy the changing seasons in your own backyard, even when it seems like there’s nothing but snow on the ground. Not only will your yard look beautiful all year long, but you’ll also save money since you won’t need to pay someone else to landscape your property during the off-season. Plus, you’ll be able to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables all winter long!