Is your garden at the Winter Solstice a quiet place, with all the herbaceous plants tucked up under a warm mulch blanket? The leaves that fell from deciduous trees and shrubs have been swept off paths and stored away in jute bags to compost slowly over the next year. Tender perennials are wrapped up in hessian or have been carried into a shed for greater protection. And you’ve finished planting spring flowering bulbs in borders and in pots.
All is still, and, apart from refilling the bird feeders, theres nothing really to take you out into the garden until spring.
Indeed, for many plants this is a dormant period. Like many of our wild creatures they like to snuggle down and hibernate until the daylight hours get longer. So it is no surprise that many humans consider this to be a slumbering time in the garden.
But is it really that quiet?
What is the Winter Solstice?
When referring to the Winter Solstice throughout this blog, I am talking about the one which occurs in December in the Northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere it is of course summer time at this point.
The Winter Solstice, December 21 or 22, is the shortest day of the year because the Northern section of the Earth is tilted away from the sun’s rays.
And to prevent any other confusion, by shortest day, we don’t mean there are suddenly less than 24 hours in it! What we mean is that it is the day with the fewest number of daylight hours.
Garden Teacher Tip
An easy way to remind yourself of how your garden looks at the Winter Solstice is to take photos. If the sun is shining it will show you shady spots a this time of the year. But even on cloudy days it’s a useful record of what is flowering, how tall the hedge has grown and so on.
There are blog links at the end with planting inspiration and gardening tips for you. But in the meantime –
And back to your garden…
Did you know that one of the main reasons why deciduous trees and shrubs shed their leaves during the autumn is because of the reduced winter light levels?
Or look at it this way: Sunlight is a major component in the process of photosynthesis which is the means by which trees, shrubs and plants create and store energy and food. In order to do this, their leaves basically act as solar panels.
All your herbaceous perennials, deciduous trees and shrubs may look like they’re not doing anything – they may even look dead to a novice gardener’s eye. But they are still alive, living off energy that they stored in their roots during the long summer days. They’ve set their alarm clocks for the spring; the longer days, shorter nights and warmer weather.
And then there are winter flowering shrubs, many of which pack a perfume far in excess of their summer cousins. Well, they’ve got to entice into their blooms those few bees that are around! Winter flowering honeysuckle is just a starting point, check out the blogs below for some floral ideas from both deciduous and evergreen shrubs, including ones with berries for the birds in your garden at the Winter Solstice.
But what, you may ask, about Evergreens?
Well yes, evergreen plants are still growing not sleeping in your garden at the Winter Solstice, but even they slow down.
Conifers retain needles (leaves) all year but, obviously, also drop old ones year round. Which means that yes, they do grow new needles during the colder months, at a slow rate and in order to replace old ones. Other evergreens, whether that’s a Camellia, a Laurel hedge or a hardy Lavender, also continue to grow slowly and replace dead leaves with new.
And it is their seemingly magical ability to retain leaves and keep growing when most plants seem dead, that has led to many legends over the centuries. But for most of us, it is the structure they provide in a winter garden that is important.
And that structure doesn’t need to be a huge yew topiary. It can be something as simple as a row of lavender against the path to the front door. Or perhaps a trio of pots on the patio with a bay tree, an oak leaved Hydrangea and an upright Rosemary.
The Kitchen Garden and the Greenhouse
Mentioning two herbs brings us onto other edible plants. If we’re lucky, have the room and planned ahead, there will be food crops to harvest. Colourful rainbow chard perhaps or sprouts ready to be picked on Christmas day. You may have rhubarb smugly growing under a forcing pot and evergreen herbs such as thyme and sage to pick for flavouring casseroles. And garlic bulbs planted in the autumn will already be sending up green shoots in your garden at the Winter Solstice.
And where there aren’t edible crops growing, is there a mulch or a green manure to keep the soil warm, ready for an early sowing of seeds? Or do you start seeds off in your greenhouse? Even a small greenhouse can enable you to extend the growing season and protect tender perennials over winter.
Did you know that the average interior temperature of an unheated and uninsulated greenhouse will be 2-3 degrees higher than it is outside? Good insulation can raise that to 4-5 degrees higher inside – and that’s before any heating is added!
The soil in your garden at the Winter Solstice
Soil is arguably the most important element in the garden – it feeds and supports all of your plants. Even at midwinter, the soil thrives with living, breathing, developing microbes, some of which can stand freezing temperatures and a thick covering of snow.
Indeed, there’s been research which suggests that the effect of snow on the soil micro-organisms can have positively affect the storage of nitrogen within the soil. Nitrogen is the major nutrient required for vegetative, or leafy growth. And this stored nitrogen is crucial if your plants are to get a good start to their spring growth.
However earthworms which are also vital for good soil, are not so active. Some species burrow deeper into the soil and hibernate for much of the winter. others lay eggs which are better protected than the adults against very low temperatures. But you can still find some worm activity, although this may be easier to see in the compost bin than in the flower border.
Midwinter
As well as all the gardening tasks you may be carrying out – pruning of apple and pear trees; sweeping up the rest of the leaves for composting, mending fences – there are lots of weather related factors that affect whats happening in your garden at the Winter Solstice.
And did you know that the shortest day is rarely the coldest day of the winter? That’s because the mass of the Earth and oceans absorb and slowly releases heat into the atmosphere.
Which is why, generally speaking, the Northern hemisphere’s coldest days occur in late January or early February. Hence the saying:
“When the days lengthen the cold strengthens.”
December is the first of the winter months, for all that we call the 21st day Midwinter. But when the afternoon turns to dusk on the shortest day, and you leave tidying the rest of the plant pots for another day, it’s time to go into the warm. Light a fire of sweet apple wood, and eat a hearty casserole of vegetables you grew yourself. And be grateful for the freezer, the TV and the central heating for when you don’t have time to behave like a medieval peasant…
And finally
As for exploring whether you could have a winter garden that is restful, filled with scent and has food for you to harvest, why not get in touch? Designing a winter border or veg plot to increase your pleasure in your garden at the Winter Solstice for you would be a delight.
Or if you’re looking for a Christmas gift with a difference, why not ask about our bespoke Gardening Lessons, where your classroom is actually your own garden? We can help with both gardening basics and more ‘expert tasks’, carry out worm and other experiments and for example, also show you how to plan a vegetable plot or kitchen garden. Have a read through this pdf download for info. . Or if you prefer company, there are small group Gardening Workshops to come to.
For further gardening advice and inspiration, check out Plews Potting Shed blogs, including the selection below Plus we have a monthly Tipsheet You could come and find us on Instagram Pinterest and Facebook too.
And there are Gardening Gift Vouchers you can use for all our services – now there’s something to add to your Christmas list!
Feeling nosey? You can have a peek at the progress of my garden renovation, Spitfires and Slow Worms, on Instagram and Facebook
You’ll get to see it in person if you come to the Plews Gardening Workshops Although some dates still need to be finalised, there are a few up on Eventbrite for you to book into. Follow for updates on topics and dates on Instagram, Eventbrite, Facebook
Related Gardening articles you may enjoy from our Award Winning Blog
Gardening Tips & Tasks
Your Greenhouse Plants Winter Checklist
Winter Gardening Tips for Plants
Kitchen Gardens
Growing Culinary Herbs in your Winter Garden
9 Winter Vegetable Garden Tasks to be Doing Now
Garden Design Ideas
12 Design Ideas for Your Winter Garden
Scented Shrubs for Christmas Morning
Cornus – Dogwood – Colourful Winter Stems
Shakespeare – The Winters Tale – Garden Design Inspiration
Wildlife Gardening
6 Bird Friendly Shrubs for Your Winter Garden
Growing Mistletoe for Christmas and for Wildlife
Gardening Ideas and Explanations
Nature’s plough – the Earthworm
Why are there Changes to Your Garden Growing Season?
