Winter Hardscaping Guide: Reimagine Your Garden While Nature Sleeps

In this guide, we’ll explore why winter is the best time to tackle these projects, which projects to focus on and how this can help you create a space you can enjoy in the year ahead (and beyond!)

Why Winter is Prime Hardscaping Season

It can be easy to think that there’s nothing to be done in your garden over the winter months but, when it comes to hardscaping, it can actually be one of the best times to start upgrading your space. 

Here’s a few reasons why winter is the prime time for hardscaping:

Winter bareness helps you to see the wood for the trees

Winter signals a slowdown in growth for your garden so it’s the perfect time to focus on hardscaping without flourishing flowers, hedges and bushes getting in the way. This winter's bareness gives you a clear, uncluttered view of the space, making it easier to imagine where various structures might be placed and allowing you to make more informed decisions about where hardscaping projects would look best. It’s the perfect time to assess and decide on where new fencing, decking, cladding or a garden building could go.

Easier installation

A bare garden provides uninterrupted access for groundwork and construction, so you don’t have to worry about trampling on or upsetting those plants you’ve carefully nurtured. In addition, the ground tends to be firmer in the winter which minimises damage to the rest of your garden and prevents machinery from getting stuck.

Design for every season

When you’re building in the summer, it can be easy to create a space that’s useful right now. You’ve been out in the garden and noticed there’s a sunny spot so you lay decking or a patio which allows you to make the most of the space and weather. Building in the winter helps you to get a better understanding of how you might be able to use your garden all year round. For example, building a gazebo that offers shelter from the elements and adding a heater so you can enjoy being outdoors even when it’s cold outside. Come summer, it becomes the perfect place to find shade from the summer sun.

Be ready for spring

When the first warm days of spring arrive, the first thing you want to do is get out in your garden. By completing hardscaping jobs in the winter, your garden is ready for you to enjoy on these warmer days instead of having to start projects when you’d rather be relaxing on your decking with a cup of coffee and a book.

Hardscaping Projects that are Perfect for Winter

With your garden stripped back to its bare bones, hardscaping projects are much easier to plan and install. So, whether you want to upgrade tired looking boundaries, create a new seating area or refresh existing garden buildings, winter is the perfect time to do it. 

Here are some of the key hardscaping projects that you can take on over the winter to transform your garden in time for spring.

1. Decking

Many homeowners decide to add decking in spring or summer when they’re outside using the garden and realise they need added functionality to different zones in their outdoor space. However, winter is one of the best times to build or upgrade your decking because you’re able to properly assess the space you have available and any issues that may be hidden during the full growing season. Winter also provides access for groundwork with less risk of disturbing summer planting. 

Adding decking to your garden is a great way to create new zones and usability to your garden before the spring arrives so all you have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy your garden rather than try to start building when the weather is warmer! 

Composite decking provides a modern alternative to timber decking and gives you a long-lasting, low maintenance and attractive solution for upgrading your garden and enabling you to get maximum enjoyment from the space.

2. Fencing

When your garden dies back in the winter, you’ll have a better view of your boundaries and fencing so you can identify the areas that need to be reinforced, replaced or redesigned. When greenery has died back, it’s much easier to access and work on boundaries which minimises disruption to your garden. 

This is also a great time to rethink the style and purpose of your fencing. Do you want to add more privacy to stop neighbours from being able to see in? Do you want to add more shelter from the wind? Or do you just want to give your garden a more modern look? 

New fencing is an easy way to upgrade the look and feel of your garden, reinforce boundaries and provide an attractive backdrop for spring growth.

3. Cladding

Cladding is a great way to enhance different areas of your garden or breathe new life into tired looking garden buildings. With bare borders and leaves gone, you can see the full building, assess wear and tear and consider options for improving the overall aesthetic of your garden. 

Cladding is perfect for buildings such as log cabins, sheds and garden offices to give the exterior a modern lift and provide additional protection from the elements to ensure your building stays structurally sound. Cladding’s also perfect if you want to add a focal point to your patio or define different areas of your garden. You could even add it to a gazebo or pergola to provide additional shelter or privacy. 

Composite cladding offers a contemporary, low maintenance and attractive solution for any area of your garden and will improve the overall look of your garden so you can enjoy it throughout the spring and summer months.

4. Paths, paving and edging

Winter is the perfect time to upgrade or redesign paths, borders and paved areas in your garden because you can see the ground properly and assess how you can improve the flow of your garden. 

Installing new paths or upgrading existing ones during the winter enables you to plan more accurately and think about how each zone connects to the other, improving access to well-used areas of your garden.

5. Pergolas, gazebos and outdoor shelters

>> Economist Gazebo

Being able to see your garden also allows you to understand where a pergola, gazebo or outdoor shelter might work best. Is there a part of your garden that’s underused? Or somewhere that’s particularly exposed? Winter provides you with the clearest space for accurate positioning of any building and enables you to see where your views might be blocked or where you need added privacy from neighbours.

Plus, you have the added benefit of a space you can enjoy when the spring arrives, giving you maximum enjoyment of the structure you’ve spent time designing and building.

6. Log cabins

>> Emma Corner Log Cabin

If you want to go one step further and create a space that allows you to get even more use from your garden all year round, adding a log cabin is the perfect solution. And winter is a great time to do it. 

A bare garden allows you to see where the log cabin would sit, how it would affect views from your house or how it would cast shade on any seating areas. This will allow you to choose the best size and position without having to guess at what might be hidden under summer greenery.

Clearing the site, levelling the area and installing your base are all much easier without plants in the way and when the ground is a bit harder. Building a log cabin in the colder months means it will be fully settled, treated and furnished by the time spring arrives so it’s the perfect time to ensure you’re able to enjoy your garden and get full enjoyment of the warmer weather.

Transform Your Garden This Winter

Winter is seen by many homeowners as a quiet period in the garden, but it can be one of the best times to make big improvements. A bare landscape gives you a rare opportunity to rethink the layout of your garden and start planning on how you’re going to reorganise, rearrange or add new features. These changes become much trickier once spring flowering starts.

Investing in hardscaping during the winter months means you’ll have a functional and organised space that enables you to get maximum enjoyment from your garden when the warmer weather strikes. In addition, now the bigger jobs are out of the way, you can spend the spring planting your garden, so it looks its best once it’s in full bloom.

If you’re ready to invest in your garden this winter, take a look at our full range of cladding, decking, fencing, log cabins, summer houses, gazebos and more.