Gardening Tasks for Late Winter

As the final frost date creeps closer and the harsh chill of winter begins to ease, a quiet opportunity arrives for us to get back into the garden. It's still cold but it is the perfect time to prepare your patch for the abundance of life that spring will soon bring. Whether you've just started exploring the gardening world or if you're a few seasons in, this transition period is full of meaningful, manageable tasks that can set your garden up for success.

So grab your thermal gloves and a hot cuppa, here’s your essential late winter gardening checklist, with tips to help you get growing.

Soil Preparation: Build a Better Bed

Think of soil as the foundation of your garden. Rich, healthy soil means healthy, productive plants. Start by clearing away old leaves, spent crops, and any weeds that may have crept in. This reduces pests and diseases and gives you a clean slate. Avoid using chemicals where you can.

Once your beds are tidy, lightly dig through the top layer to break up clumps and improve texture. We use a handheld three prong fork to do this so as to not to dig to deep and disturb the soil layers. Add compost, aged manure, or worm castings, this feeds the soil and improves drainage and structure while also helping with moisture retention. Here at the Lauriston Blend, we use a mix of goat and chicken manure, but store-bought compost or aged horse/sheep manure works just as well (just make sure it’s well-rotted!).

Want to take your gardening one step further? Try a soil pH test. Kits are inexpensive and will tell you whether your soil needs lime (to raise pH) or sulfur (to lower it), ensuring your plants get the nutrients they need.

Pruning: A Fresh Start for Plants

Late winter is pruning time for many trees and shrubs, especially before the sap begins to rise. Start with roses, cut back to outward-facing buds and remove any dead, damaged, or crossing stems. This shapes the plant and improves airflow, reducing the chance of disease.

Fruit trees like apples and pears can also be pruned now. Aim for an open, balanced structure. Make sure you sterilise your secateurs between cuts, especially on roses or fruit trees, to avoid spreading fungal spores. We use a 10% bleach and water mix.

Planting: The Early Birds of Spring

This is an ideal time to plant bare-root roses, fruit trees, and hardy perennials. Dig a hole twice the size of the root ball, enrich it with compost, and plant at the same depth as it grew in its pot or bag. If you want to get a head start on your veggies and annuals you can start seeds indoors in trays or repurposed egg cartons. By the time the weather warms, your seedlings will be ready to thrive outside. We use both a greenhouse (see our blog on building it!) and trays in the house on the windowsill.

Mulching: A Blanket for Your Beds

Mulching is one of the simplest and most rewarding things you can do for your garden. It helps retain moisture, suppresses weeds, and improves soil health. It can also act as a barrier from the frost for overwintering more cold tender perennials such as dahlia tubers.

Apply a 5–7 cm layer of pea straw, lucerne, bark chips, or homemade compost, keeping it away from plant stems to prevent rotting. It’ll also protect delicate roots from any sneaky late frosts.

Want to try making your own mulch? Leaf mould is easy to prepare and helps add nutrients while maintaining a cottage garden look. We layer raked up fallen leaves directly onto our garden beds; Often a mix of pine needles, oak and pear leaves just from around our property. You can rake the leaves into black garbage bags first and let them sit and compost in the bags in sunlight for a few months. They begin to break down and compost faster this way but directly applying them works just the same however slower.

Weed Control: Start Clean, Stay Clean

Weeds are opportunistic. They love bare soil and winter neglect to take hold and where you had none suddenly they can be popping up especially as the season starts to shift before we feel it. Now’s the time to pull out anything unwanted, especially deep-rooted perennial weeds like couch grass or oxalis. Use a hand fork to loosen roots and prevent regrowth. Being consistent makes the most impact with weed removal. Try laying cardboard or newspaper under mulch in weedy areas for a chemical-free weed barrier. This doesn't always work for stubborn weeds long term but it can help you get a head start and will help bring worms and other good bugs to the soil.

Maintenance: Tools, Beds & Repairs

Give your garden a good once-over. Tighten any loose trellises, repair edging, restain timber especially timber garden tool handles that can crack and give you splinters when aged, and check for winter damage to garden beds or paths (think drainage!)

Sharpen your secateurs, clean your tools, and refill your watering cans. These small tasks now will make your busy spring so much smoother. This is a great time to install an archway, obelisk, or rustic bench to elevate your cottage garden’s structure and style. You can make big decisions for the structure of the garden better when you see it bare and open in the winter.

Plan Your Dream Garden

Late winter is a wonderful time to daydream. Sketch out your garden layout or use an app to play with designs. Map where your summer crops, annual flowers, or new plantings will go.

Think long-term too and plan to rotate your veggie crops to avoid soil exhaustion and pests.

Welcome Wildlife: The More, The Merrier, Unless You're The Kangaroo Knocking Our New Trees Over

A biodiverse garden is a healthy garden. Encourage bees, butterflies, frogs, and birds by planting a range of flowering plants and offering shelter. Add a shallow bird bath, dish with stones and water, an insect hotel, or even a small pond (a half wine barrel works beautifully).

Slow Down & Soak It In

Lastly, enjoy the moment. Late winter may not be bursting with flowers yet and its still very cold out, but it’s full of promise. The rhythm of pruning, the tiny signs of new growth, the little wrens dancing around you. These are the quiet joys of a seasonal gardener.

So to recap, your late winter checklist:

✅ Clear beds & add compost

✅ Prune roses and fruit trees

✅ Plant bare-root perennials and hardy trees

✅ Start seeds indoors

✅ Mulch generously

✅ Weed thoroughly

✅ Check and repair infrastructure

✅ Plan your layout

✅ Add wildlife-friendly touches

Happy gardening everyone. Rug up and let us know what you're up to in the garden lately.

-Clair

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