As of mid-September, Dupont said his team hadn't planted anything outside. "The work is more focused and protected. For example, we install curtains to protect the floor from the cold," he explained.
The greenhouse contains a second category of crops that are still grown after fall. You will find lettuce, spinach, cauliflower, endive, mesclun, arugula and “new” onions ready for spring.
Mark Lamy, Head Gardener at Belvoir Castle in England, holds a Diploma in Horticulture from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and a Masters in Conservation of Historic Gardens and Cultural Landscapes from the University of Bath. Lamy, who is no stranger to winter gardening, said there are a wide variety of cold-adapted plants, from bulbs to trees. Flower bulbs include winter aconites, Balkan anemones and reticulated irises. Winter gardeners interested in shrubs may consider boxwood (an evergreen shrub), witch hazel (a deciduous shrub with yellow-red spider flowers), and dogwood, which produce fruits resembling cherries and elegant yellow flowers in summer. towards the end of winter.
Plantum app botanist Yulia Omelchenko shared her favorite plant varieties for winter. “Hostia is a winter garden favorite because of its evergreen leaves, sharp edges and beautiful red berries. Gorse, known for its red berries which last all winter and provide food for birds, will also make a wonderful addition to the conservatory. Other beauties: Japanese pieris; red barberry; pink beach; American Beauty Bay; and the corkscrew, “an ornamental shrub that enhances the beauty of the garden with its unique twisting branches.”
Know when to start
For DuPont, a crucial step in winter gardening, taken well before winter sets in, is creating what he calls a battle plan – an organized plan for which plants or vegetables to plant, when and where. It is important to note that there are no hard and fast rules regarding location when developing such a plan. "In our experience, we don't believe in placing certain plants on top of each other. Our advice is to create as much diversity as possible," Dupont said. Achieving biodiversity naturally helps protect your garden because the different elements balance each other. “Butterflies and caterpillars, for example, feed mainly on cabbages and radishes. We have a lot of trees and birds, and birds eat caterpillars, so we don’t have a lot of caterpillars,” Dupont added. He continued: “The more stuff we have and the more insects and animals we have, the less problems we have with imbalances, disease and predators in our gardens.”
