What to Grow in Your Garden During the Winter
Winter is not typically a busy season in the gardener’s calendar. However, the winter does not have to be a complete write off for any home gardeners as there are still vegetables and plants that you can sow at home during this period. Here are some ideas that are sure to get you out in the garden this January and how it is done.
Winter Vegetables
- Carrots – The Adelaide variety of carrots takes exceptionally well to growing late in the year and makes an ideal summer harvest.
- Garlic – One of the easiest crops to grow at home, garlic is an incredibly low maintenance crop that thrives in the winter months and will happily grow even when planted between November and January. Despite being easy to grow, birds can be a menace as they love to pull fresh garlic out of the ground. This can be prevented with some netting if planted outdoors.
- Perpetual Spinach - (Chard)/ Perpetual Spinach (sometimes known as Chard) loves cooler temperatures and makes for an incredible winter salad.
- Peas - Peas are a robust vegetable that can be sown in the winter time for an early harvest. This easy to grow veg is bound to go down well at the dinner table.
- Parsley / Dill/ Chives & Basil - Incredibly robust herbs and are ideal to grow during the winter time. These herbs will survive outdoors all year round.
The winter time does not have to be just for vegetables, here are some of the top 5 flowers you can plant in December to brighten up your garden.
Winter Flowers:
- Winter Aconites - Flowering from the buttercup family, this flower is native across France, Italy and other parts of Europe. It's beautifully bright yellow colour can be seen flowering in spring and throughout the winter, even when exposed to the elements, hence the name.
- Heather - They may look small, but these hard-wearing flowers are a surefire way to brighten up your winter garden, as they can flower all season long until spring comes round again. The best type for winter growing is "E. Carnea" which will bloom from a light pink to deep purple.
- Winter Jasmine - One of the earliest flowering plants around, winter Jasmine will often bloom in January despite the elements, and is a fantastic plant to brighten your winter garden.
- Daffodils - Depending on the weather, Daffodils have been known to bloom before spring has sprung, Occasionally these can be seen as early as mid January. It is in fact a common misconception that there are a species of 'winter daffodils'.
- Japanese Quince - This hardy plant grows well in sunny patches or with partial shade and bears a unique, acidic fruit that is a great substitute for lemon or can be made into jam.
