22 Winter Garden Ideas That Will Inspire You to Try Cold-Weather Planting

 

Mypurgatoryyears / Getty Images

Many gardeners spend the winter months dreaming of spring. But if you want to get a head start on your spring garden or explore your creativity with nature-themed crafts, there are still plenty of ways to keep your green thumbs busy in winter. From growing microgreens to improving your soil, this list of winter garden ideas has something for every green thumb.

• 01of 22

  Plan for Spring

  

   

  darrya / Getty Images

  The quiet months of winter are the perfect time to do some garden planning. You can use a sketchbook to draw out new garden designs or flip through seed catalogs for some inspiration. You may also want to start a garden journal so you can keep track of your gardening experiments and pinpoint changes that you want to make in spring.

• 02of 22

  Order Seeds

  

   

  The Spruce / Brie Goldman

  Winter is also the time to order seeds from your favorite seed catalogs and websites. You may have a few tried and true seeds that you always order, but experimenting with a few new seed varieties every year can make your garden feel fresh and exciting. Once your seed order arrives, store your seeds in a cool, dark, and dry place until you’re ready to start planting.

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• 03of 22

  Order Bare Root Plants, Too

  

   

  The Spruce / Jayme Burrows

  With all the hustle and bustle that goes into selecting and ordering seeds, many growers forget to order bare root plants. However, seed catalogs often offer bare root strawberries, fruit trees, and perennials in winter, which are shipped out just in time for spring planting. Getting your plant order in early is the best way to ensure that you get all the plants on your list.

• 04of 22

  Test Your Soil

  

   

  The Spruce / Meg MacDonald

  Water, wind, and other factors deplete soil nutrients and make gardens less fertile over time. But if you test your soil once every three years, you can detect and correct soil nutrient deficiencies before they turn into major plant problems.

  While fall is usually the best time for soil testing, you can still test your soil in winter and add all the amendments you need before spring bloom.
• 05of 22

  Add Soil Amendments

  

   

  The Spruce / Jason Donnelly

  If you tested your soil and found it lacking, add slow release fertilizers, manure, or compost to your garden in winter to boost soil health in spring. Simply apply your amendments of choice directly over your beds and mix them into the top 6 inches of soil if the ground isn’t frozen. Or layer on your amendments, cover them up with mulch, and wait until the ground thaws in spring to mix them in.

• 06of 22

  Build New Beds

  

   

  The Spruce / Steven Merkel

  Are you dreaming of expanding your garden? Use the slow months of winter to craft new raised beds out of ledger board or build fresh soil with the lasagna gardening technique. You can even heap logs, sticks, autumn leaves, and other plant detritus into a mound and create a brand new hügelkultur bed.

• 07of 22

  Apply Mulch

  

   

  The Spruce / Jacob Fox

  Mulch can be applied in spring or fall, but you can also add mulch in winter to protect your soil from drying winter winds. Weed-free straw mulch, compost, and chopped autumn leaves are the most popular choices for vegetable gardens, while wood chips and bark mulch are more commonly used in ornamental beds.

  For best results, apply mulch in 2- to 4-inch layers and keep the mulch line away from plant stems to avoid issues with rot.

• 08of 22

  Sow Seeds Indoors

  

   

  The Spruce / Meg MacDonald

  Starting seeds indoors is an easy way to extend your growing season and save money on nursery started plants. Slow growing vegetables and herbs, like celery and chives, are typically started indoors in pots in late winter, while faster growing crops are started in spring. All you need are some seeds, pots or seedling trays, grow lights, and seed starting mix.
• 09of 22

  Start an Indoor Herb Garden

  

   

  The Spruce / Brie Goldman

  Try starting your own indoor herb garden for when winter sets in and herb gardens die back for the season; this way, you can still keep your kitchen flush with fresh herbs by growing herbs indoors in pots. Most herbs grow well indoors, although chives, mint, cilantro, and basil are particularly popular.

• 10of 22

  Attract Winter Birds

  

   

  The Spruce / Adrienne Legault

  Many wild birds eat insects during the growing season, but birds have fewer food sources available to them in winter when insects are scarce. Setting out bird feeders and a heated bird bath will attract birds to your garden and allow you to do some birdwatching too. If you’re feeling crafty, you can even make some natural bird feeder ornaments by rolling pinecones in peanut butter and birdseed.

• 11of 22

  Prune Dormant Trees

  

   

  The Spruce / Jayme Burrows

  The best time to prune most trees is during their winter dormancy period, which lasts from late fall to just before the plants leaf out in spring. You can use this time to reshape fruit trees, deciduous trees, evergreens, and flowering trees that flower on new wood, such as smoke trees. Just be sure to avoid pruning trees that flower on old wood in winter as this can reduce blooming.

• 12of 22

  Support Pollinators

  

   

  Nennieinszweidrei / Pixabay

  Waiting until spring to rake leaves out of your flower beds is one way to support pollinators. But you can also help bees and butterflies in winter by starting some native plant seeds indoors or building your very own bee hotel.

  For a basic bee hotel setup, simply drill holes in an untreated piece of wood and install the wood in a protected spot near your flower beds where it will be discovered by nesting bees in spring.
• 13of 22

  Grow Cold Hardy Crops

  

   

  Mypurgatoryyears / Getty Images

  In mild climates, cold hardy crops often survive the winter with just a bit of mulch. However, in colder spots, plants like brassicas, radishes, and carrots can be kept alive with the addition of cold frames, row covers, grow tunnels, or cloches. For even more options, try growing heat-loving plants, like tomatoes, indoors in pots.

• 14of 22

  Enjoy Winter Interest Plants

  

   

  The Spruce / Loren Probish

  Plants with bright berries, colorful bark, or dried flowers enliven snowy gardens and attract wildlife. If you’re lucky, you may already have some of these winter interest plants growing in your garden, but you can also use the winter months to research colorful winter plants to plant in spring.

  English holly is always a classic choice, but native plants like winterberry, chokecherry, red osier dogwood, and wintergreen also attract significant wildlife.

• 15of 22

  Craft Some Trellises

  

   Mint Images / Getty Images

  If don’t want to purchase store-bought trellises for your beans and vining plants, you can make DIY trellises or obelisks in winter with sticks, twigs, vines, and a bit of twine or wire. Not only are fallen sticks and vines easy to find after winter storms blow through, but crafting plant supports in winter will help you check off a few items on your spring gardening to-do list too.

• 16of 22

  Keep Composting

  

   

  The Spruce / Meg MacDonald

  Although composting slows down in winter, you can continue to compost year round as long as your compost pile doesn’t freeze solid. To speed up winter composting, avoid turning your compost in cold weather and insulate your compost bin or pile with straw or autumn leaves.

  You may also want to explore indoor composting methods, like bokashi composting or composting with worms, which can be used in any weather.
• 17of 22

  Clean Garden Tools

  

   

  The Spruce / Meg MacDonald

  Garden tools can get dirty during the growing season and they often accumulate a layer of rust. However, you can make your tools shine again by soaking rusty tools in distilled vinegar and polishing any lingering rust away with steel wool. If you had to tangle with plant diseases during the growing season, you may also want to disinfect tools with a rubbing alcohol spray.

• 18of 22

  Winter Sow Wildflowers

  

   

  The Spruce / Michelle Becker

  Plant seeds that are native to cold areas germinate best if they’re exposed to cold and moist conditions or cold stratified before planting. Sowing these seeds mid-winter in outdoor mini greenhouses made with upcycled milk jugs allows seeds to naturally cold stratify before spring.

  You can also stratify seeds by wrapping the seeds in a damp paper towel, sealing them inside a plastic bag, and leaving them in your fridge for about a month before planting.

• 19of 22

  Plant Microgreens

  

   ronstik / Getty Images

  Try growing some tasty microgreens in flats or upcycled containers on your kitchen counter or windowsill if you're craving fresh greens in the winter. Radishes, broccoli, kale, mustard, and arugula are all commonly grown as microgreens, but you can also experiment with lesser known greens, like mizuna or red-veined sorrel.

• 20of 22

  Create a Worm Bin

  

   

  The Spruce / Meg MacDonald

  Composting with worms allows you to compost year round in a small space. But if you don’t want to purchase a pre-made worm bin, you can craft your own worm composter with an opaque, plastic storage tote and a hand drill.

  Simply drill ventilation holes along the lid and upper sides of the tote, fill the tote half way up with pre-moistened coconut coir, shredded newspaper, or another worm bin substrate, and add in your worms.
• 21of 22

  Make Seed Balls

  

   

  congerdesign / Pixabay

  Wildflower seed balls make it easier to plant on-the-go and they’re a fun winter craft for all ages. Just blend together two parts potting soil, one part powdered red clay, and a sprinkle of your favorite wildflower seeds. Add enough water to form the mixture into small clay balls, let the balls dry fully, and then pack the seed balls away in a cool, dry place until you’re ready to plant them.

• 22of 22

  Make Some Labels

  

   

  The Spruce / Adelyn Duchala

  If you’re stuck inside on a chilly winter day, try making plant labels with upcycled materials or clay. Don’t be afraid to let your creativity run a bit wild as you draw inspiration from found objects in your snowy garden or repurpose yard sale finds into whimsical garden art.