Although the process will look different from landscaping at other times of the year, not only can you landscape in the winter but there are several reasons you should. The cold can be particularly damaging to your lawn and using some simple maintenance tips can prevent your lawn from needing as much repair for bare spots and damaged plants come spring.
Related Topic: Outdoor Landscaping Ideas
Winter Landscaping Ideas
Landscaping during winter focuses heavily on maintenance. It may not be the time for planting new flowers or trees, but by caring for your lawn through the winter, you can protect the hardscape against the cold weather, keep trees healthy, and be prepared for spring.
Pruning: Pruning back shrubs and trees through the winter will keep them healthy and give your space a groomed look.
Removing Dead Branches: Removing dead or dying branches allows your trees to direct their energy towards new growth. It also prevents the danger of a branch falling on someone or damaging property. We should note that removing limbs can be extremely dangerous, so if you have some dying branches to remove, take the safer route and call in landscaping experts to have them removed.
Drainage: The buildup of snow during the winter eventually melts and can waterlog your plants. By adding a drainage line and cleaning the gutter, you can help guide the cold water where it won’t damage your plants.
Protect the Roots: Adding a layer of mulch as insulation over your plant’s roots can protect them from the intense cold and ice that winter brings.
Stay off a Frozen Lawn: After your lawn has frozen, repeatedly walking or driving on it can kill your turfgrass crown, leaving you with bare spots in the spring.
Brighten the Landscape with Evergreens: Thanks to their hardiness and lush colour, incorporating evergreens in your landscape is a great way to keep a pop of colour all year round. They also offer a beautiful variety of shapes.
Add Plants with Berries: To spruce up the colour of your yard after most of the colours have faded, consider adding some trees and shrubs with berries. This will offer food for the birds and draw a scuffle of activity from critters in your yard.
Consider Trees with Textured Bark: You can add dimension to your lawn’s winter landscape through more than colour. Different trees have lovely bark textures.
Keep Salt off the Plants: Salt ice melt is great for breaking things up on the road or a walkway, but the salt runoff can burn your plants. Stay mindful of the snow you clear into your yard and whether it has salt in it or not. Your plants will thank you.
Why Landscape in the Winter?
We’ve already answered the question of whether you can landscape in the winter, but why would you want to? What does it benefit?
Aside from improving appearance and curb appeal, landscaping through the winter can help maintain the structure of your hardscape and help it survive the winter – it can also mean an easier spring cleanup. Annual pruning also keeps your shrubs and trees healthy. They would be budding in the spring, blossoming in the summer, and fruiting in the fall, so winter is one of the best times to prune.
Caring for your lawn through winter also gives you a head start on your spring landscaping. With less damage to repair, you will be able to focus on the fun part – adding new plants.
Related Topic: Spring Lawn Maintenance
Maintenance Is Key and We Can Help
Maintaining your lawn care through the winter will give you a head start on getting things ready for spring, and it will also give your lawn more curb appeal through winter.
The task can get overwhelming at times, and it can take a lot of drive to drag yourself out in the snow to get the work done, so if you need a hand, we at the Grounds Guys are here to help. Give us a call at (888) 972-8063 or request a job estimate online for landscaping services you can trust.