14 Ways to Keep Your Garden Alive Through Winter • Schisandra & Bergamot

When the temperatures drop and frost begins to creep in, it’s easy to think your garden’s days are numbered. But with a few smart strategies, you can keep it thriving even through the coldest months.

Winter can be a time of quiet growth and preparation for the vibrant spring ahead. Here are 14 ways to keep your garden alive, healthy, and beautiful all winter long.

Grow Cold-Hardy Vegetables

Young spinach plants with green leaves growing in soil in a garden bed, with blurred vegetation in the foreground and background. — Photo Credit: ha11ok/Pixabay

Crops like kale, spinach, and carrots can handle chilly weather and even taste sweeter after a light frost. These hardy greens keep your garden productive while everything else rests.

Use Cold Frames or Tunnels

A small greenhouse with a slanted roof shelters leafy green plants; a metal watering can sits in front on the soil in a garden. — Photo Credit: alho007/Deposit Photos

Cold frames and low tunnels act like mini greenhouses, trapping warmth and protecting tender plants. They’re perfect for extending the growing season and keeping greens fresh.

Add a Thick Mulch Layer

A person wearing white gloves holds a pile of brown mulch, with more mulch scattered on the ground below. — Photo Credit: larisikstefania/Envato

Mulch insulates soil, keeps roots warm, and prevents nutrients from washing away. I like to use straw, shredded leaves, or bark chips for a natural, breathable cover.

Protect Plants with Row Covers

A dense cluster of green clover leaves with water droplets scattered on the surface. — Photo Credit: damesophie/Pixabay

Lightweight row covers shield plants from frost while allowing sunlight and moisture through. They’re easy to use and make a big difference in survival rates.

Bring Tender Plants Indoors

Five potted plants of varying sizes are arranged in a row on a wooden surface, each with a white tag attached to its pot displaying handwritten labels. — Photo Credit; cottonbro studio/Pexels

Before the first frost, I bring potted herbs, succulents, and tropicals inside. A sunny windowsill or grow light can keep them thriving until spring returns.

Keep Watering Before Freezes

A person watering soil beds with a hose inside a greenhouse, surrounded by various growing plants and vegetables. — Photo Credit: Zoe Richardson/Unsplash

Moist soil retains heat better than dry soil, which helps protect roots from frost. Give your garden a deep watering before cold snaps hit.

Add Compost or Manure

Person shoveling soil or compost into a red wheelbarrow. — Photo Credit: Greta Hoffman/Pexels

Feeding your soil now means healthier plants later. A layer of compost or aged manure adds nutrients that break down slowly over winter.

Plant Evergreen Shrubs and Ground Covers

Person in green overalls and gloves standing in a garden, holding pruning shears, surrounded by various green bushes and plants. — Photo Credit: duallogic/Envato

Evergreens like boxwood or creeping thyme add color and life all year long. They also protect soil and provide shelter for beneficial insects.

Build Windbreaks

A blue wooden picket fence with green leafy vines growing over and around it, set outdoors in bright daylight. — Photo Credit: svittlana/Envato

A simple fence or row of tall plants can shield delicate greens from harsh winds. It reduces moisture loss and helps plants withstand the cold.

Start a Winter Herb Garden

Two potted rosemary plants sit on a table in an outdoor setting with string lights and blurred people in the background. — Photo Credit: ThinhLa/Pixabay

Herbs like rosemary, thyme, and sage thrive in cool temperatures. They’ll keep your kitchen stocked with fresh flavor all winter.

Leave the Leaves

Autumn forest scene with orange and yellow leaves on trees and ground, sunlight streaming through, and leaves falling onto a dirt path. — Photo Credit: Mny-Jhee/Deposit Photos

A layer of fallen leaves provides natural insulation and breaks down into nutrient-rich compost. It’s also a cozy habitat for overwintering pollinators.

Grow Indoors with Grow Lights

Indoor hydroponic garden setup with leafy green plants growing under a LED grow light on a white table, surrounded by laboratory equipment. — Photo Credit: MarishkaTR/Envato

If outdoor gardening slows down, take it inside. Grow lights let you keep producing greens and herbs even when sunlight is scarce.

Let Snow Be Your Ally

A yellow watering can sits on snow-covered grass in a garden with trees and bushes under a clear sky. — Photo Credit: DEWI-Stockphotos/Deposit Photos

Snow acts as an insulating blanket for dormant plants. Instead of removing it, let it cover your garden—it protects roots and slowly hydrates the soil as it melts.

Plan and Prepare for Spring

Two workers in aprons stand in a greenhouse, reviewing a clipboard together next to a cart filled with blooming flowers and plants. — Photo Credit: SashaKhalabuzar/Deposit Photos

Use winter’s downtime to assess what worked and what didn’t. Prepping your tools, soil, and seed lists now will give you a head start when the thaw begins.

Keeping your garden alive through winter doesn’t have to be complicated—it just takes a little care and foresight. With these 14 tips, you’ll help your plants, soil, and ecosystem stay healthy until spring bursts back to life.