In the warm months as well as in winter there is always something to do in your own garden and around it. There are various project ideas for everything to do with the garden, which can easily be postponed into the cold season.
Construction work
Table of Contents
If the garden is largely not used in winter, it is time to carry out various construction works, weather permitting. But in December and later in February there are always a few days that are weather-wise suitable for various project ideas in the garden.
Note: The hedges can and should now be cut back if they have become too high and too wide and no longer have an appealing shape. The hedge trimming is only possible in winter from October 1st to 28th / 29th. February allowed, otherwise breeding birds could be disturbed here.
Gazebo, greenhouse & grill
Many home and garden owners would like a little retreat in a corner of the garden. The advantage of such an arbor is that it can be comfortably furnished and then used for celebrations or, for example, as a reading area in winter when the favorite place in the garden has become uncomfortable due to the weather. A gazebo can be built in winter when there is no other gardening work to do. The following should be noted here:
- Register the construction with the responsible office
- Regulations vary from municipality to municipality
- Dig the soil
- Pour the foundation
- Build a gazebo
- Paint walls if necessary
- Plan and carry out interior work
Set up the greenhouse
If you want to move plants forward in spring so that they can move into the prepared beds in summer, you can now set up a greenhouse in winter. Greenhouses are already finished or offered as components on the market. This is how the greenhouse can be easily set up in the garden:
- look for a suitable place
- A sunny location is recommended
- North-South orientation
- sheltered from the wind
- Water and electricity connections nearby
- Straighten the bed
- Pour the point foundation for the corners
- on a frost-free day
- Set up the greenhouse according to the manufacturer’s instructions
Idea: You can also build a greenhouse yourself with a couple of long iron rods and a thick, transparent film. However, this is a more tedious affair as opposed to putting up a store-bought greenhouse.
Garden grill
Building instead of buying is also the name of the game for the garden grill. A brick-built charcoal grill with segmented arch is a real eye-catcher, durable and enables you not only to grill meat, fish and vegetables, but also to prepare more elaborate dishes thanks to its good heat storage.
It is best to follow a professional guide step by step. The choice of location plays an important role in ensuring that the grill is stable and can be operated safely. The advantage of building it yourself: The grill can be individually adapted to the desired size.
Slope reinforcement and walls
The slope is about to slide, then it’s time to pave it up. Winter is also suitable for this project. If the slope is very steep, a solid slope must be provided. A retaining wall always needs a concrete foundation if the incline is 7 ° or more. But there are also other slope fastenings that can look like this:
- gabions
- wooden palisades
- Greening with suitable plants
- concrete walls
- dry stone walls
- Plant stones
For many of the proposed project ideas for slope reinforcement, however, it is necessary that a frost-free day is chosen. Because the ground is difficult to dig when it is frozen. In addition, if the ambient temperature is too cold, concrete can crack as soon as it solidifies.
Pull wall
Walls can make the garden meaningful and visually appealing. Beds can be bordered or a separation from the terrace can be set up. In addition, various stone walls in a near-natural garden can offer the many animals a good shelter here. So there are the following decorative variants of stone walls:
- Quarry stone wall
- Wall made of boulders
- Wall made of field stones
- ashlar bricks
- bricks
- natural stones
- clinker
- brick
- concrete blocks
The foundation, which must be stable, is important when building any wall. Since this is cast from cement, this step should be done on a frost-free day.
Note: Depending on how high your wall will be and where it is to be erected on the property, you must obtain a permit from the responsible office of your municipality. Better to ask what is needed here before building.
More garden projects
Build a raised bed
Many gardens are decorated with raised beds. These are often used for herbs, vegetables and salads. These beds can be built especially in winter so that they are ready for cultivation in spring and summer. When building a raised bed, the following should be included in the planning:
- a working height of 80 cm to one meter is ideal
- Can be purchased in stores as a kit
- you can build it yourself
- it is better to be longer than wide
- so everything is more accessible
- a diameter of 1.20 meters is common
- suitable materials
- Gabions, plastic, stone, wood
Caution: You should not buy cheap goods with the potting soil that is filled in, because it clumps up too quickly. In addition, compost should be folded in directly when filling. Pond liner from the inside can provide protection if a wooden raised bed is chosen.
Dredge pool or pond
Anyone who has decided to create a pool or pond in the garden should start dredging on frost-free days in winter. This is due to the following reasons:
- the garden is not used as an oasis of relaxation
- it’s not too hot for hard work
- Companies can make appointments faster
- for example when renting excavators
The pool or pond can be prepared to such an extent in winter that a pond only needs to be planted in spring and the pool can already be finished except for the water.
Tip: If you hire a gardening and landscaping company for the dredging, then you can expect a reduction in bills, especially in winter, as the companies are less busy during this time and want to reward customers for a job.
Create paths or terraces
If it is frost-free, then planned paths or terraces can now be created, or at least work can be prepared so that things can go faster afterwards. Because when the whole family is in the garden in summer, such project ideas are often postponed until the next year because the garden should be enjoyed. There are the following design options for paths and terraces:
- with stone slabs
- Wooden terrace
- from cobblestones
- poured from concrete
- Lay natural stones
Beautify the garden
In winter, project ideas are particularly suitable for which there is no time in summer due to all the “normal” gardening work. In this way, you can plan from the living room how the garden should look in summer. But planning can also be carried out directly in the garden and implemented directly on a sunny winter’s day.
Lights and lanterns
Lights and lanterns are not only a highlight in the summer garden, the garden is also comfortably illuminated in winter, especially when it gets dark in the afternoon. It is therefore advisable to set up lights in winter, which can then continue to be used in summer. However, these lights should have nothing to do with Christmas lights. There are the following lights and lanterns that look very decorative in a winter or summer garden:
- Fairy lights on the trunk of trees
- in the treetops
- in hedges
- are available with batteries, electricity or solar
- small balls of light along the way
- along the terrace
- Lanterns with LED candles
Caution: The disadvantage of solar-powered lighting is unfortunately that the lights usually do not come on when the weather is overcast or wet, as there is no sunlight on the reflectors. Nevertheless, it is the cheapest option, as there are no additional costs after the purchase.
Build climbing supports
If you already know where different climbing plants should be or have already been cultivated in summer, you can build the climbing support for this in winter. Because without leaves and flowers, it is easier to attach the twigs and branches to the climbing aid. In addition, the winter is also suitable here for checking existing climbing aids for damage and repairing them. There are the following climbing aids that are well suited and that you can build yourself or buy ready-made or as a kit from well-stocked specialist shops:
- Pergola as a roof
- Rose arch individually or as a passage
- Woven fences as privacy screens
- corner trellises
- Fan trellises for the house wall
Plan mixed cultures and beds
Already in winter you should think about the new beds to be planted. For both flowers and vegetables, different plants are put together that can get along well and keep pests and diseases away. The following mixed cultures can be designed:
- Vegetables with matching herbs
- for example tomatoes and basil
- Vegetables with flowers as pest protection
- e.g. different types of cabbage with marigolds
- Carrots and onions
- Cucumber, dill and lettuce
- peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes
In some cases, the vegetables can be put together in such a way that everything is offered in one bed for a delicious salad.
Prepare beds
If the soil is frost-free, then empty beds can be prepared at the end of winter. You should proceed as follows:
- dig up the earth well
- Loosen up with a digging fork
- Fold in sand or peat in heavy soil
- possibly create drainage under the entire bed
- For this, dig at least a meter deep
- fill with a layer of stone or gravel
- Refill soil
- Fertilize the soil with compost now
- so the nutrients can develop
- are immediately available the first time they are planted
Tip: Drainage is ideal for many plants. So that one does not have to be created in each individual planting hole, a small bed can be equipped with it.
Repair and clean-up work
Winter is always particularly suitable for various repair and beautification work in the garden. Because then tools and furniture are not needed and can be refreshed, repaired or replaced. The ideal thing here is that the work can be carried out in the shed, basement or garage if it is too cold outside. You can also tidy up the tool shed or the garden shed properly. Everything can then be used quickly on the first warm days of the next season.
Check and replace garden tools
On a dreary winter weekend, it is a good idea to check the tools in the tool shed. Because if it is stressful in summer and autumn and there is a lot of gardening to be done, some tools are not cleaned properly and are simply carelessly put in the shed. However, moisture can cause tools that have not been cleaned to rust faster. Motor-operated devices, on the other hand, should also be checked for functionality and properly arranged. Here you can proceed as follows:
- clean all garden tools with the hose
- let it dry well
- Also disinfect cutting tools with alcohol
- hang up neatly, put away or put in a corner
- Let motorized devices run once
- repair it yourself if necessary
- or give it to a workshop
- Cover properly and put away
Repair and care for garden furniture
The garden furniture was heavily used throughout the summer. In winter they are usually protected from the damp and cold under a tarpaulin or in a shed. In winter, however, it is also a good way to take care of the furniture or carry out small repairs. So they are ready to use again on the first warm days:
- Glue wooden furniture if necessary
- or tighten loose screws
- brush with a brush
- treat with care oil
- then put it away properly
- Wash plastic furniture well
- let dry
- Stack chairs
- Take the table apart
- put in a corner
Furniture made from other materials is also checked and cleaned before it is put into place in the shed.
Tip: If you inspect the garden furniture, you can also tackle your barbecue immediately, if it is not used on a covered terrace all year round anyway. This should be cleaned well so that no rust can build up over the winter.
Repair garden hose
The garden hose was probably rolled up and hung up before the first frost. Nevertheless, this should also be checked briefly in winter. Because solar radiation can make the material porous and holes can appear. You should therefore proceed as follows with the hose:
- connect
- Let the water run
- check for holes
- close these with an appropriate putty
- alternatively, replace the garden hose immediately
- Then a new one will be available in spring if necessary
Think about the animals
When it is too cold in winter to carry out garden project ideas further, it is time to think about the many animals in the garden. These projects can be prepared and made in the warm hobby room or shed. In spring and summer everything will be ready for you. Other project ideas, however, are also suitable for the garden in winter. You can take these outside immediately after completion.
Make tit dumplings yourself
Especially in winter you should also think about the birds that continue to look for food in the garden. If it has snowed, it becomes difficult for the animals to peck larvae and worms from the ground that have hidden here for the winter. Then it is a good idea to hang up tit dumplings in trees or on the terrace and a window. You can also make the dumplings yourself as follows:
- 150 grams of fat
- Tallow available from the butcher
- heat carefully
- Add 150 grams of mixture of grains
- Draw a cord in the middle
- shape everything into a ball
- let harden
- hang up
Tip: Especially when children are part of the household, it is particularly interesting for the little ones to help with the production of the tit dumplings and then watch the birds eat.
Build a bird and nest house
Those who are skilled in their craft and like to work with wood can build both a bird feeder and a nesting house. There are various building instructions on the internet that can be built quickly with a little experience. But there are also ready-made bird houses and nesting houses. The bird feeder can be set up and filled in winter. The nest box should be made available to the birds as early as possible in late winter.
Prepare insect hotel
An insect hotel can be prepared in winter and placed outside in spring for a cottage garden that shines with lots of colorful flowers again in summer. This attracts many useful insects that move in and also overwinter here. The following should be noted in the insect hotel:
- Finished kits in stores
- Shelter for several species of insects
- should be made of natural materials
- leave in the garden all year round
- place it near flowers and trees
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to winterize a lawn too?
This area is also prepared so that the lawn can survive the winter and look well-groomed again next summer. Before the first frost, the mowing takes place one last time. Because the stalks break under the snow and freeze to death in frost if they are too long. Fertilization to strengthen the lawn plants is now also suitable.
Why should I take care of various tasks in the garden in winter?
A real garden lover cannot be without work and just sit around, even in winter. This is why such project ideas are easy to implement in winter. It is also a pleasant feeling when the first rays of sun warm the air in spring that you have already prepared a lot in winter and can look forward to a relaxing summer in the garden.
Is it common to build a pool or erect a wall in winter?
Many gardeners postpone this work until winter. If it is frost-free and the soil is therefore not too hard, then the hole for a pool can be dredged well even in cold temperatures. The same applies to the construction of a wall, where the foundation can be poured on frost-free days.
Does it make sense to buy and set up new equipment or sheds in winter?
Since the dealers usually reduce seasonal items in the time when these items are not needed, this makes perfect sense. Because components for a shed, greenhouse or gazebo, as well as lawn mowers or chainsaws, can be purchased more cheaply, especially in winter.
