How to manage garden maintenance in winter: focus on the dry garden

Winter has arrived, and with it, the cold. The predominantly dry weather and falling temperatures certainly make our gardens less lush and force us to abandon the idea of a flowering lawn. However, the characteristics of a dry garden mean that not much maintenance is needed in winter, ensuring excellent results even during this season.

To understand your dry garden during this period, it is important to consider a few aspects. First, it is essential to pay attention to unusual temperature fluctuations, which have altered the life cycle of many plants. Furthermore, the importance of biodiversity cannot fail to remain a fundamental topic for the health of the garden in any season, especially when dealing with a dry garden. As for maintenance, the garden in winter does not require a major commitment, and a couple of simple – but important! – precautions are enough to allow our lawns to thrive.

1. Temperature fluctuations in gardens in winter
2. Dry garden in winter and beyond: healthier with biodiversity
3. Drainage
4. Pruning
5. A self-sufficient garden

Temperature fluctuations in gardens in winter

This year, the winter period will be milder than ever. After a terribly muggy summer and a far too dry autumn, a season with generally moderate temperatures is on the way. The autumn heat, which affected not only Central and Southern Italy but also surprised northern areas, was disastrous for the life cycle of vegetation. Many plants, in fact, induced by the delayed cold, bloomed until the end of November. The temperature anomalies were also the cause of an unusual and dangerous proliferation of various types of fungi and pathogens, which are not good at all for the health of gardens or the environment.

The natural and environmentally friendly philosophy on which the work of Botanical Dry Garden is based does not involve the use of fungicides and pesticides. At this time, however, the temptation is strong, due to the anomalies that even our plants are experiencing. In any case, we prefer to let nature take its course, but this decision can only work if supported by very sound agronomic techniques, which allow the garden to be protected.

Here are some of our tips.

Dry garden in winter and beyond: healthier with biodiversity

We will never tire of emphasizing the extreme usefulness of biodiversity in the garden. The use of many different species and varieties of the same species in a single space makes the garden more resilient and healthy.

The rule of biodiversity also applies above all to alternative lawns, the varieties of low-water-use groundcovers that provide a viable alternative to the classic English lawn and require less maintenance. A polyphyta lawn, that is, composed of different plants with different characteristics, generally has greater resistance and therefore a greater chance of withstanding any fungal attacks.

The now decade-long experience gained at Botanical Dry Garden leaves no doubt about the importance of biodiversity in dry gardens. This year, for example, our garden had a nuisance problem of mold on Verbena hybrida – only small areas, fortunately! However, our lawns resisted perfectly: while the Verbena was dealing with the fungal infestation, the other little plants of Achillea crithmifolia, Lippia nodiflora and Frankenia laevis, which had been planted together with the Verbena, admirably filled the empty space, and in a few days the lawn returned to being lush and pleasant. If the entire lawn had been covered with Verbena hybrida, it would have been bare and withered for much longer.

What works for lawns also works with mixed borders. Guara and Salvias, for example, which add touches of color to our gardens, can be planted in different varieties to reduce the risk of losing all the plants in case of pests. In addition, this technique also allows the flowering period to be extended, making the garden more beautiful for longer. The same goes for rosemary: our borders with twenty or thirty different ecotypes, in addition to looking very natural, have long flowering periods and different colors.

Drainage

It doesn't rain anymore, or it rains little and for too little time, and we have all lost the habit of working to prevent waterlogging. Yet, especially when dealing with increasingly frequent downpours, having good techniques for waterlogging is essential. The period between the end of autumn – perhaps the rainiest of the year – and the beginning of winter is the best time to check the proper drainage of water.

To do this, it is necessary to check that, when it rains, puddles or water accumulation do not form at the base of the plants. If something like this happens, the first thing to do is use a hoe or shovel to create a furrow and allow the liquid to drain properly. This simple maneuver is actually essential in anticipation of a possible sudden drop in temperatures.

In our area, an old saying goes, “water and frost don’t stay in the sky!”. As often happens, ancient wisdom is what can teach us the most: it refers, in fact, to the terrible damage that a frost could cause to waterlogged soil, especially near the crown of the plants.

Pruning

Avoiding pruning is essential to preserve the health of the garden in winter. Pruning, in fact, always represents a moment of stress for the plant which, if an unexpected frost were to occur, would not be able to handle any more traumatic events. It is better to avoid it altogether before the end of February or early March, the most suitable period for the climate of Central Italy.

A self-sufficient garden

The Dry Garden, by its nature, needs little maintenance. There are some small actions necessary to take the best care of it, especially considering the major change in climate and temperatures that we are experiencing, which inevitably alters the natural life cycle of plants. But the dry garden is certainly the most resistant and the one most inclined to adapt to many changes.

Therefore, even and especially during the cold season, the Dry Garden needs little attention. What is important to do is to experience it and enjoy its versatile characteristics, being surprised by the new arrivals of migratory birds, which with their chirping will make the landscape even more magical and relaxing.