How do I look after a pond in freezing weather?
A frozen pond kills fish by trapping gases under the ice, not by the cold itself. Keeping one small area open, without smashing or boiling anything, is the whole job.
beginner20 min5 min read
Seasonal Tasks
What to do now, and what can wait.
69 guides in Garden
How do I read a weather forecast for frost risk in my garden?
Which fields in a forecast actually predict frost, how to correct a regional forecast for your own site, and the decision rule for whether to go out and cover things tonight.
beginner10 min3 min readWhat is a cloche for, and when should I use one?
The four distinct jobs a cloche does, when each matters in a British season, and the ventilation rule that stops it becoming a cooker.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I stop plants rotting in wet soil over winter?
The practical measures that get a borderline plant through a wet British winter — mounding, grit, raising pots, keeping rain off the crown and not cutting back — in the order they are worth doing.
intermediate45 min4 min readFleece, hessian, bubble wrap or straw — which winter protection should I use?
What each covering material is actually good at, which ones must never touch foliage, and how to match the material to whether you are protecting leaves, a crown or a root ball.
beginner15 min5 min readHow long is my growing season and what does it decide?
How to work out the frost-free days you actually have, why it decides which long-season crops are realistic, and how to make it longer at both ends.
beginner12 min3 min readWhy does frost only form on clear, still nights?
The three conditions that decide whether a given temperature produces frost — the sky, the wind and the moisture — and why the same forecast number means frost one night and nothing the next.
beginner8 min3 min readHow do I mulch a crown to protect a plant over winter?
How to build a mulch collar over a crown so it insulates without rotting the plant — depth, width, the hollow at the neck, and the grit underneath that matters more than the mulch on top.
beginner20 min4 min readWhat does a wet summer do to a garden and what should I change?
The specific problems a wet summer produces — disease, slugs, split fruit, poor pollination, leached nutrients and unworkable soil — and the adjustments that genuinely help.
intermediate45 min5 min readWhen should I take winter protection off my plants?
Why leaving protection on too long does as much damage as taking it off too early, the signals to watch for, and how to uncover in stages instead of all at once.
beginner20 min4 min readWhy is my garden weeks behind my neighbour's?
The site differences that put two gardens on the same street a fortnight apart — aspect, cold air drainage, soil type, shade and shelter — and which of them you can actually change.
beginner15 min4 min readWhat does a mild winter do to a garden?
Why a winter without a proper frost causes more problems than it solves — pests carrying through, plants that need chilling, growth brought forward into the frost window, and ground that never dries — and what to do differently.
beginner12 min5 min readWinters seem milder — should I be sowing earlier?
Why a warmer average does not shorten the frost risk in any given year, what a mild winter genuinely does change, and where sowing earlier is justified and where it is a gamble.
intermediate12 min3 min readHow do I protect a plant from frost when it is too big to cover?
What to do for a mature tree fern, banana, olive, tender shrub or large specimen that no amount of fleece will cover — protect the part that matters, warm the ground, and accept the rest.
intermediate40 min4 min readHow do I shade plants from strong sun without stunting them?
Which plants genuinely need shading and which do not, what materials give useful shade without killing the light, and how temporary shade differs from a permanent siting decision.
beginner30 min5 min readDo I need to water anything in winter?
The four situations where plants genuinely dry out in a British winter despite the rain, how to tell which of yours are at risk, and how to water without doing harm.
beginner10 min4 min readHow do I garden in a wind tunnel between buildings?
Why a narrow gap between buildings accelerates wind rather than sheltering from it, what that does to plants, and how to break the flow without creating turbulence that is worse.
intermediate40 min4 min readWhy should I not cover plants with plastic sheeting in a frost?
The three separate ways polythene laid on a plant does more damage than no cover at all, and the one arrangement in which plastic genuinely helps.
beginner7 min3 min readWhat do I do if snow settles on my hedges and shrubs?
Why snow is a mechanical problem rather than a cold one, which plants need clearing and which are better left, and how to clear without snapping frozen wood.
beginner25 min4 min readWhy is my garden so much shadier in winter?
The three things that happen to the sun in winter — it gets lower, its arc gets shorter and its light gets weaker — and why a border that is sunny in July is in shade all day in January.
beginner10 min4 min readHow do I keep a garden record that is actually useful next year?
The handful of things worth writing down — frost dates, first and last events, what failed and when — and the recording habit that survives past February.
beginner15 min3 min read