Words by Adam Harris
If you are planning to keep your garden neat over Winter, there are a few must-have winter garden tools that you will need available to you.
A winter garden can look very pretty, as the leafless trees form a sculpture against the low winter light sky, but as we know, there is always essential pruning and trimming to keep our garden tidy whatever the season.
Winter Garden Tools
Other than the usual snow shovel, there are quite a few other tools you’ll need for Winter. We have looked at gardening tools that will be a great asset to you in every season and will leave your garden looking fabulous even in winter.
A good rake
You will need to control the leaf load, so try the Bulldog Wizard Rake, this will rake up the leaves effectively, and has a large head, the action will prevent damage to your lawn.
A leaf blower
To move your leaves into a pile, essential following Autumn, is something the children can do to get the leaves ready for composting. The Bosch Cordless Leaf Blower is always a good option.
Good Secateurs for Pruning
Felco Pruner is a small handheld secateur. These are recommended for pruning shrubs or cutting flowers for the house.
Or you can consider the Fisgars Powergear Pruner, these are made of extra strong steel and are the best secateurs for cutting greenery.
Border Shears
We all want our borders to look neat, for that you can invest in the Sealy Straight Edge Telescopic Shears. These are lightweight with a good grip. If you don't want anything too heavy these will be a good choice for you.
Tool Sharpener
You will have a bit less work to do in the garden during Winter (no lawn mowing, as the grass does not grow), make the most of the winter months and sharpen your tools with a Marshalls Garden Tool Sharpener.
This is a simple mechanism that you attach to your power drill, sharpen your tools, and put them away in a safe place.
The Winter Garden
The garden is a harsh environment for birds over the winter months, so while you are at the Hardware store buy a bird feeder and some seed. Erect to hang from one of your tree branches and remember to refill it to keep your birds alive in winter.
During winter you can sprinkle a large amount of lawn feed over your lawn, to strengthen the lawn for Autumn and to nourish it for when it begins to grow again. Evergreen Autumn 2 in 1 is a great choice, and follows the directions, spreading evenly with a rake.
The Perfect English Lawn Roller and Winter Garden Tools
Your perfect lawn will come from sewing appropriate seeds for a cold and damp climate. Before you do the lawn resewing the surface will need to be flattened with a lawn roller.
The old lawn rollers were very heavy, but my research shows a lightweight iron roller that will sow seeds as well as rolling flat your lawn. It is called a VidaXL Black Garden Lawn Grass Roller68L. It has a roll diameter of 30 cm and a filling volume of 68L which makes it perfect for the suburban lawn.
You can roll the lawn twice, once before the seed is scattered and once the seed is sown, the roller is used to press the seed into the earth. Be careful not to over compress the earth, as this will make the earth hard, and difficult for the seed to grow.
Once sown, the seed will need to be watered very gently and don't show until the end of winter, as you want it to germinate and to be perfect for Summer.
If your Lawn has Holes and Patches
Sometimes in Winter holes and bald patches develop on your lawn. You may not want to replant the whole lawn, so it is best to fill the holes with a mixture of two parts topsoil and two parts sand, and one-part compost.
Place more soil across the top, and rake with your rake. This will nourish your lawn, and you will need to plant more lawn seed over these spots. Once you think that Winter is over, it will be time to fertilize the lawn.
Winter Pruning
If you have Roses, winter is the time to prune them with your new Felco Pruner. Remove any dead or damaged wood from the plant. Ensure that you cut as near to the bud as possible.
Probably early winter is ideal, as you don't want to remove any spring buds, Roses should be pruned every year to encourage new growth. You can often decrease the size of the Rose by around two thirds, and it will grow back next spring/summer.
Winter Vegetables
Seeds will not germinate in cold winter weather, but if you have a greenhouse you can put some seed trays in, and they will be ready to plant out in Spring. These include:
- Broad Beans
- Onions
- Spinach
- Silverbeet
Greenhouse in the Garden
A greenhouse is a good investment, and no longer expensive. Once you have erected it you will be able to keep a few things growing over winter.
Salad leaves are something that you will be able to have all the year-round, plus potatoes and peas.
Have a look online to see how to erect a greenhouse for an incredibly low cost, about 6 feet by 12 feet with a door.
Make sure that you have a floor in it to keep plants off the ground. If you watch a tutorial you can go and buy a kit version of a greenhouse and erect it in your garden.
There are so many winter garden tools available to us that you will certainly need a tool shed with a lock on it to prevent burglaries. Then you can put everything away safely from exposure to the elements. There is more to do in the garden in Winter than I thought, so Happy Gardening!
Adam writes for HealthyHandyman. He has a great passion for writing about everything related to tools, home improvement, and DIY. In his spare time, he's either fishing, playing the guitar, or spending quality time with his beloved wife. You'll also often find him in his workshop working on some new project!