Have you shut the door on your winter garden, staying in for the long wait til spring?
I don’t need to tell you how important sunlight and fresh air are for our mental and physical wellbeing. And the winter garden is beautiful: leaves of burnished copper; frost-laced cobwebs; icy blue skies; incandescent sunsets.
There is a lot that could be enjoyed. But with the cold, the wet, and (let’s be honest) more-often-than-not the grey, how does one forego the living room sofa and encourage ourselves out?
Investing in a plant scheme for year-round interest is one way to make your outdoor space inviting whatever the season. However, I’m just as happy looking at the flaming dogwoods inside from the window! So I have a few tricks up my sleeve to make it so easy to sit out in the garden that, whenever there's a glimmer of sunshine, there’s simply no excuse.
This is what works for me (and my husband Paul) to encourage us out into the winter garden — we always enjoy it when we get out there! I'm also sharing my cinnamon apple scone recipe, our favourite homely snack to enjoy sitting outside in the garden.
Image: garden bean bags are easy and lightweight to move to catch the best of the autumnal sunshine — they are useful additional chairs for a corner indoors too. Here the Palm Pumice Bean Bag Chair is a super-cosy place to sit outdoors with the addition of a lambswool throw. The longer and larger Palm Pumice Bean Bag Lounger is an inviting place to relax with a book and cup of tea to enjoy the best of the season's sunshine.
Ten tips to make it easy to get out and enjoy your winter garden
1. Feed the birds
As food becomes increasingly scarce, garden birds need a helping hand. There is something wonderful about the colour and movement of garden birds whirring in and out of the garden. They are wonderful to watch sat outside wrapped in a blanket — and topping up the feeders every few days is a lovely habit I’ve got into.
My favourite bird food is from A Little Bird Company. Clare changes her seed mix with the seasons to provide optimal nutrition for wild birds throughout the year. It’s also the one that the choosy little finches throw least of on the floor, which minimises the mess.
I’ve enjoyed listening to Adam Nicolson, husband of garden goddess Sarah Raven, on how to make your garden a thriving bird haven. He recommends the squirrel buster feeders to make sure the birds get a look-in!
Don’t forget a bird bath too. Birds need water for drinking and to clean their feathers, especially in a cold winter when natural water sources may be frozen over. Make sure the bath is no deeper than 5cm — add stones or gravel for something grippy to stand on.
Image: add a bird bath — like this beautiful slate wildlife bowl from Foras — and enjoy watching the visits from garden birds through the seasons. (Image Credit: Foras Home & Garden)
2. Add indoor-outdoor bean bags to a boot room or hall
To make it easy to enjoy the dry days of winter I bring a garden bean bag indoors. It's always helpful to have an extra chair in the boot room — and it's very easy to brush mud off it. I like to also pull one close to the radiator in the corner of the kitchen for a cosy spot to flop and warm up. They’re soft, inviting, and add a well-needed splash of colour indoors.
Then, whenever there’s a glimmer of winter morning sunshine, I have an outdoor bean bag to hand that's easy to pull onto the patio — or the lawn if that’s where the sun is hottest.
Sat in a circle of sun looking at the ice blue sky, is my favourite way to enjoy a late morning cup of coffee and an apple scone (recipe below).
Image: Armadillo Sun outdoor bean bags are made from high-end premium fabrics that look just as good indoors. Bring your garden bean bag in for winter to enjoy a cosy seat next to the fire — and have a comfy chair ready to pull onto the patio whenever you'd like to sit outside.
3. Make your garden glow
There are many low-voltage or solar-powered garden lighting options available now — and, when it comes to adding light in winter, more really is more!
String up the festoon lights, add lanterns or stake lights along your pathways, and swathe your trees with fairy lights.
Garden lighting will make a huge difference to the amount of time you spend enjoying your outdoor space in the colder, darker months.
4. Choose all-year-round garden furniture
It’s easier to enjoy the winter sunshine if your garden furniture isn’t packed away in the shed!
If you want outdoor furniture that lasts longer than a summer fling, make sure it won’t rust or rot in the damp; is resistant to mould; dries quickly after the rain; and that any fabric is a match for the elements.
Personally I find my wooden bench is always a little soggy in winter. Metal-based furniture is just too cold. I love my Armadillo Sun garden sofa because it is as cosy and inviting as my living room sofa (in fact, when I couldn't find a standard sofa to fit, I used an Armadillo Sun bean bag sofa in my husband's office — it's just as comfortable, if not more so!)
With ultra-durable fabric, an Armadillo Sun outdoor sofa is incredibly comfortable and lasts outdoors. There are no inner structures of metal, wood, or plastic that might rust, rot, or disintegrate. All the fabric is extra weatherproof, dries fast, and doesn’t go mouldy.
As the fabric is incredibly durable, I leave my sofa outside and uncovered all year round. It’s ready to loaf on whenever the winter weather is asking to be enjoyed.
However, I’ve also designed winter covers that are quick and simple to take on and off. Using a cover means you don’t have to brush off sticks, soggy leaves, and other winter debris from your seating: whip off the cover and your comfy sofa is ready to sit on!
A little trick I love is to disconnect one chair from the modular sofa — each chair of the sofa is pulled together with simple connectors — and set it up with a pile of cosy garden throw cushions. I cover this one chair — cushions and all — with a single winter cover which is easy to secure in place with corner drawstrings. With the first hint of winter sun, I fling the cover off for a deliciously cosy place to sit, listen to the birds, and enjoy my winter garden.
Image: a single unit from a modular outdoor sofa makes a cosy place to curl up in the garden. Add outdoor cushions and a blanket, and protect from soggy leaves with a winter cover, and you'll always have a little winter refuge to escape to.
5. Add colourful garden furniture and patio décor — the simple solution to achieving year-round outdoor colour!
If the short dark days weigh heavy on you, colour is an immediate lift. Adding plants to your garden that flower well into autumn, like asters, Japanese anemones, dahlias, and cyclamen, will deliver a shot of much-needed dopamine.
But when these go over, and everything feels soggy and brown, colourful garden furniture is a wonderful alternative. An orange and pink bean bag chair in our tropical Medina fabric instantly lifts a dark corner.
For more colourful inspiration browse my 36 garden furniture ideas that will crank-up the colour in any outdoor space.
6. Have a party! Set up the garden for winter entertaining
Parties in the garden may feel like the preserve of summer, but don’t call a halt to garden parties just because we’ve slipped past August. With Halloween, Bonfire Night, Christmas, and New Year, there are plenty of opportunities for glamorous outdoor parties.
Shelter, warmth, and light are essentials when thinking about winter entertaining. I recommend hiring one (or even two) of the gorgeous firepits from The Woodee.
Then lean into the seasons with warming hearty fare — try this firepit beef stroganoff and toffee apple cake. You could even cook Christmas dinner!
Image: rent a firepit from The Woodee and enjoy a cosy get-together with friends in your garden. (Image Credit: The Woodee)
7. Make the most of the winter light and shift your garden seating
In a UK summer, the sun rises up to a 60° angle to the horizon. In winter, it barely gets to 20°. The sun sits lower in the sky with shadows reaching longer. The light in your garden, or on your patio, will therefore feel different in winter compared to summer. You may also have surrounding deciduous trees that block the sun when in full leaf, but let it through in winter.
I rearrange my favourite outdoor seating to optimise the winter hotspots in my garden. I find that I’m less inclined to venture too far from the house in the colder, wetter months. So the lovely pagoda, at far end of the garden, is barely used. I make sure therefore to take my favourite chairs and move them closer to the house and where the sunshine is brightest.
This is easy if your patio furniture is light and easy to move. I took the, somewhat unconventional, path and chose to make fabric furniture filled with beans because it makes it lightweight. An Armadillo Sun sofa chair is 6kg — that’s five times less than a standard modular sofa chair!
Being able to move a garden sofa around singlehandedly, enables versatility and flexibility in its use — which I love! Re-arrange for a special event or adopt different summer and winter garden layouts. Make your outdoor space work best for you so you can enjoy it at any time of year.
8. Work on the foundations of your garden or patio
It’s not glamorous, but to make your garden somewhere you enjoy all year round it can’t be a muddy swamp and the paving must not be slippery. Blocked gutters can also lead to squidgy, flooded patches.
If you can invest in ensuring the drainage in your outdoor space is as good as it can be, and you have laid out paved paths, then getting outside is much easier and more appealing.
To make sure that paths and patios are not a hazard, Monty Don recommends throwing on a little sharp sand (not too much!). Then use a stiff broom to scour it back and forth. This should make the paving less slippery without using harsh chemical treatments.
9. Make your garden cosy
Is this possible during a cold wet winter?! Yes — or at least you can try!
I recently learned about the “theory of enclosure”: people tend to feel most comfortable in spaces that are three-quarters as tall as they are wide. Create a sense of cosy ‘enclosure’ by drawing seating together and surrounding it with a little height — perhaps a fixed structure like a gazebo or a willow screen. To maximise the feeling of height, replace standard chairs with low-level seating like bean bags.
Make sure you always have a soft blanket at the ready, as well as a warm drink and homely food.
On cold dark January days, I used to make cinnamon apple scones for my kids to come home to after school. Now I make them for me, to take outside with the dog and a cup of tea, to enjoy the change of the seasons.
Cinnamon Apple Scones Recipe
The perfect comforting snack to enjoy outdoors
Ingredients:
- 300g self-raising flour
- 50g soft light brown sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1-2 tsps of ground cinnamon
- 50g unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 100ml of buttermilk
- 200g of peeled, cored, and grated apple (choose a sharp apple like a Granny Smith)
- Demerara sugar for a sugary, crispy topping
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°Cfan and line a baking sheet.
- Mix all the dry ingredients (except the demerara sugar) together. Add more or less cinnamon depending on how spicy you like them — add some fresh grated nutmeg too for a little extra kick.
- Rub the butter into the flour mixture with the tips of your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Gently squeeze the excess juice from the grated apple.
- Add the apple to the flour mixture and stir until evenly distributed.
- Mix the egg with the buttermilk and pour carefully into the dry ingredient. Mix gently with a fork to bring together into a dough — but do not knead or overwork.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat down to about 2.5cm
- Cut out your scones with a scone cutter (or cut round the bottom of a glass), place on the baking sheet, and brush with egg or milk.
- Mix the demerara sugar with a good pinch of cinnamon. Then sprinkle over the top of each scone.
- Bake for 14-18 minutes or until golden.
- Cool a little and then eat, outside, with a good slathering of butter!
10. Don’t be too tidy!
Don’t cut all your summer planting back, leave the rosehips, twiggy bits, and seed heads. It’s brilliant for over-wintering wildlife and bugs, and you’re not left looking at bare soil.
Instead spend the time cosying up outdoors or decorating the garden for festive appeal.
What have I missed? What do you do to make your garden somewhere you sit in and enjoy all year round? Do email me and let me know.
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