YOU MIGHT NOT think you have green fingers, but with just a few tips, anyone can plant and grow a garden.

Summer is drawing to a close, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use the autumn months to prepare a garden that will spring into life during the winter time. 

Did you know that Ireland has a climate that is especially good for growing a winter garden, thanks to mild temperatures and the lack of severe frost?

In this week’s edition of the Allianz Home Magazine, we’re looking at basic tips for how you can get started on your winter garden.

Give yourself the right foundation

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Planting for the winter is slightly different to planting in the spring, and you might need to do a little more work in preparation. To make sure your soil is healthy for winter, you should start taking care of it now.

Find the area of your garden where you wish to plant, clear away the dead plant matter and rake through it with a garden fork to break it up. Then, cover the area with a small layer of compost before covering it with mulch to help protect it from the inevitable rain. 

Once you’ve got your soil ready, it’s time to start thinking about what it is you want to plant.

Grow the right things

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Naturally, not every kind of plant or flower thrives in wintertime, so you need to be smart about what seeds you sow in the autumn. 

Winter-flowering plants, like winter heather, violas, and pansies, can add some colour to your garden in the greyer months. All three usually take about three months to flower after the seed has been planted, so you want to have your seeds sown by some time in September. If you want to be really protective of your garden, you can buy croches or cold-frames to keep your plants safe from the elements. 

If you feel like being especially sustainable and growing your own food, you can plant resilient vegetables such as spinach, cabbage and kale. Carrots, garlic and beetroots are also good options for growing in the wintertime.

Get perennial

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While it’s obviously smart to plant seeds that will flower in winter, you can also adorn your garden now with already-grown plants that will continue to live on through the colder months. 

You don’t need to wait until winter to see changes to your garden. By buying perennial plants such as lavender, colourful chrysanthemums or black-eyed susans, you can make a start on a relatively low-maintenance winter garden by putting in place vibrant flowers that will last even in the cold. 

You don’t have to grow it all yourself

One thing that they don’t tell you about gardening is that it’s okay to cheat a little bit. As we get closer to the end of the year, you’ll want your garden to reflect the festive spirit, so we advise making a few seasonal additions to the garden you’ve already grown.

This could include hanging baskets of flowers such as primroses. With their vibrant petals and tendency to flower all winter, these flowers would be the perfect choice to liven up your garden during a dark time of year. 

Decorating the garden for Christmas is also a lovely touch. Think about adding green, red and gold garlands or wreaths to your fences and walls, planting stake-lights for illumination, and maybe even a Santa’s sleigh for a bit of extra merriment.