With winter fast approaching, it is our gardens that will take the hardest hit. Rain, snow, frost and darker days can create a bleak outdoor space with some extra challenges to navigate. Get your garden ready for winter this year with our helpful winter gardening hacks.

The British winter weather can cause muddy patches or walkways in the garden, leaving you jumping from patch to patch. Muddy walkways can not only be slippy and dangerous but can mean that you are taking in mud into the home, causing damage to interior floors and extra cleaning.

Enhance areas of your garden that are prone to adverse weather with decorative gravel or stepping stones. Perfect for covering muddy or slippy garden spaces while adding interest, colour and an element of zen during the winter months. 

Gravel Walkways

Gravel is a super easy, effective and quick way to cover a muddy walkway or area of your garden. Lay landscaping fabric to deter weeds and avoid the gravel sinking, then pour at least 1 1/2 inches deep. Gravel comes in different sizes, materials and colours to suit any garden design, smaller gravel is softer underfoot but can get stuck in shoe treads and end up in the house, whereby larger gravel stays in place better but may be harder to walk on. Gravel offers a low maintenance option that is easy to lay and covers larger areas with ease.

To avoid gravel spilling over into borders, grass or other areas of the garden, use edging to line the area before pouring the gravel. Edging can also offer a decorative and colourful element to brighten up those grey winter days. Take a look at our modern and traditional edging to find a style to suit.

Stepping Stone Walkways

Stepping Stone are perfect for linking spaces within a garden design, helping to create an element of fun as well as providing practical solutions to allow footfall over decorative gravel or a muddy area.

For best results, place the stepping stones down first to get the desired pattern. Then dig the ground around 2cm deeper than the thickness of the stepping stones. Secure in place with either sharp sand or cement to ensure they do not move over time. See our helpful how to lay stepping stones guide.

Clean & Tidy

Pack away any furniture that can be stored away or use covers to protect them. Collect any leftover leaves from borders, patios and paths, then scrub flagstones with soap and water or blast with a pressure washer. This will prevent slabs from getting slippy once the frost arrives.

Protect & Prep Plants

Protect plants by moving them into a greenhouse or garage over winter. For pots that cant be moved, wrap well in fleece to protect against frost. Trim back trees and shrubs that have overgrown during spring and summer to ensure new growth next year and add mulch to flower beds and borders. This enables rain to penetrate the soil, prevents weeds from growing and protect the roots of plants in winter. Lastly, start planting spring-flowering bulbs such as tulips, daffodils and crocus to ensure a pop of colour early next year.