Doing your gardening in the winter can seem like a bit of a nightmare especially when you think of all the snow that would accumulate! You may be thinking of just leaving it until spring, however garden maintenance will ensure that you always have some sort of upkeep to enjoy yourself! We give you a fantastic set of tips that will help you maximize all the elements, even when it is freezing outside!

1) Do a trial run. It is tempting to think that everything is okay under the soil that is covered with snow, and yet you have no idea what is going on. Even if it hasn't snowed and it is very cold, take a shovel and start digging into the land a little bit for a garden tidy up. You need to figure out what is happening beneath the surface. When you have that done, ensure you begin mowing and feeding. Your soil will definitely thank you by the time spring arrives!

2) Do all your cleaning up! Because this doesn't quite involve any type of hedging, pruning and planting it is imperative to get a stiff broom or brush and clean up your walkway. You will get rid of things like moss and weeds that can easily clog up the cracks in the pathway. If you're finding that far too many such pests are growing, then you need to use a weed control solution to make sure that the weeds don't grow bigger any further.

3) Put out food for the birds. We often tend to forget that the biggest issue with birds and animals is that they are always looking for food. Whilst summer brings an abundance of that, winter is much less forgiving. Ensure that you always buy healthy and nutrition filled food for birds and little animals to eat! Also, think of things like water, as it becomes a scarce commodity during the colder months, with everything freezing up – create a small bird bath and put a small ball inside it, to prevent it from freezing up. If you do find that temperatures have dropped to a minus level, you can take the ball out and it will still leave a hole for the birds and animals to drink water from.

4) Protect your herbs from frost. If you are growing small herbs to use as condiments in your dishes, you will find it beneficial to have them grow indoors to protect them. Traditionally, the first two months of the year are often the coldest, so herbs such as thyme as well as dill can be covered or brought inside to ensure that they are still blooming. Parsley and lavender also come under the herbs that need protection, so watch out for them too!

5) Prune all the shrubs in the garden. This is especially important if you have plants such as roses. Roses seem to have dead end branches and ones that are diseased a fair bit, which can prevent rose hips from forming. On days that aren't too cold, go out and take a small pruner to prune everything away. You will find it so much more invigorating, cleaning your garden up!

Overall, when you follow this set of rules for tending to your garden in the winter, you will find yourself with a lot less hassle when it comes to general upkeep. Ensure that you don't overwhelm yourself in spring, so starting early is always the key to gardening success!