The season of dormancy
Winter is a season of dormancy when it comes to your garden, however here at Outdoor Living Gardens we love to begin a design process at this time of the year. With our office based in Skipton, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, we understand how quickly the world can turn white, but as garden designers we love this time as nature gives us a blank canvas to work from and is the ideal season for us to begin your design project.
Winter provides us with a clear view of the garden and allows us to see all the proportions of the area, which in turn allows us to sketch out the vision for your garden without any distraction. The underlying structure of a garden, including pathways and fences is fully exposed and allows a full assessment of the overall layout of the area, as well as highlighting sections that may need improvement or repair as part of the project.
Long shadows help to understand the pattern of sunlight
The sun during the winter months will cast long shadows, which help us understand the patterns of sunlight in your garden, allowing us to ensure that we create a planting plan that considers the sunlight and recommend plants best suited to distinct locations.
Most plants at this time of year will be dormant, this allows us to identify areas of the garden that have little visual interest this season. This gives an opportunity for including evergreens in the design, along with winter flowering plants that will give interest and structure to the garden all year round.
Winter is also the best time of year for us to check the soil in your garden and look at drainage. The absence of foliage allows us to easily identify areas that are prone to waterlogging or suffer from poor drainage. This is again valuable information to us when preparing your planting plan.
Focus on the landscape
The colder months are also a wonderful time for us to focus on the hardscape elements of a garden, such as patio areas and pathways. We can identify areas that need to be repaired or we can look to incorporate a redesign of these in the plan.
Winter allows us ample time for research and planning your project. We will use plant catalogues and also review current design trends and garden layouts. Planning allows us to plan a garden that will give you visual interest throughout the entire year.
This is also the perfect time of year to consider incorporating bird feeders and nesting boxes into your design, as well as making use of a planting scheme that will provide food and shelter for wildlife.
Garden Centre Sales
Many garden centres will have sales or discounts at this time of year, and it is an exciting time to take advantage of this and take advantage of a lower cost, while getting a head start on your dream garden. You can also start seedlings indoors and grow plants ready to transplant in the spring, giving a more extensive selection of plants.
Outdoor Living Gardens would love to hear from you if you are looking to transform your garden into a haven of year-round beauty.
