Winter Garden Design: Create A Cosy Space This Season
Winter is fully underway with its dropping temperatures and shorter days. While these are now always the most ideal conditions to get outdoors, your garden does not have to go to waste this season. With some careful garden design tricks, you can ensure that your outdoor space is suitable for year-round use and becomes a cosy haven this festive period.
As a leading landscaping company, Creative Gardens & Driveways understands the benefits of a year-round garden. We help our clients create their ideal outdoor space, ensuring they can enjoy their landscape for longer, regardless of the weather.
Using this experience, we are sharing our best tips for winter garden design. In this post, we will explore how to create a cosy outdoor space this season, featuring design tips, innovative features, and festive details.
What Is Winter Garden Design?
There has been a growing garden design trend over the past few years for outdoor spaces that can be used in all seasons. Winter garden design is a way of ensuring this, but with a particular focus on the colder season.
The focus of winter garden design is to create a space that remains inviting, warm, and usable even with the colder temperatures and dark days. Unlike other forms of garden design, this season’s work aims to create a comfortable, safe and warm space.
The focus is less on planting and greenery, but rather warm lighting and outdoor living. To take things a step further and create a cosy outdoor space this winter, the focus needs to be on warmth, texture, lighting, and the overall layout to ensure ease of use and accessibility.
Through winter garden design, you can prolong the life of your outdoor space and take advantage of the landscape no matter the weather. With the festive season approaching and the cold weather continuing, having an additional room in the home that is warm and inviting can be invaluable. By designing your garden around the needs of the season, you can experience this for yourself.
How To Design A Cosy Winter Garden: Top Tips For Winter Garden Design
Now that you understand what winter garden design is and its benefits, it is time to begin implementing features in your own outdoor space. To take advantage of your garden this season and continue enjoying the landscape, consider implementing the following:
1) Adding Warmth With Heating Options
One of the most important things in winter garden design is warmth. To fully enjoy your garden during the cold season, you need to create a safe and inviting environment, which cannot be done without heating.
There are various solutions for outdoor heating, no matter your intended theme or layout. The kind of outdoor heating that is best suited to your garden will vary based on where it will be used.
Whether you have a seating space on the deck or an outdoor kitchen and dining area on the patio, the ideal heating for your winter garden design may be:
- Fire Pits: Whether you opt for traditional wood or modern propane, fire pits can be a stunning focal point within your winter garden design. They will be the centre of any outdoor seating space, ideal for large patios or outdoor entertainment spaces. To learn more about garden focal points and how fire pits can contribute, see our post The Art of Focal Points: How To Make Your Garden Stand Out.
- Outdoor Heaters: With options from freestanding, tabletop, or wall-mounted, outdoor heaters are extremely versatile within winter garden design. These can be moved around the garden based on where you are and where the heat is most needed. Ideal for outdoor dining or relaxing under the stars, outdoor heaters can be easier to use than fire pits or open flames.
- Electric Heat Lamps: Similar to outdoor heaters, heat lamps can be used in dining or seating areas within your winter garden design. They are great for outdoor kitchens, garden bars and patio seating as they offer long-lasting warmth.
When incorporating heating into your winter garden design, ensure to follow the correct safety procedures. Keep heating equipment out of the reach of children and pets, and always make sure to extinguish fires completely before going indoors.
2) Cosy Furniture And Seating Areas
To make your winter garden inviting and functional, your outdoor furniture needs to be suitable for the climate. This means relying on materials that are safe and durable even in cold temperatures, such as:
- Teak Wood: Naturally resistant to moisture, rot, and temperature changes, teak wood is a great option for outdoor tables, seating and shelters.
- Powder-Coated Steel or Aluminium: This durable and rust-resistant material is ideal for contemporary outdoor spaces as it offers a sleek appearance to tables, chairs and decor while also withstanding the winter weather.
- All-Weather Wicker (Resin Wicker): This is a popular option for outdoor furniture, as it is hard-wearing and easy to clean. Made from polyethene resin, seating, tables, and other outdoor furniture won’t crack in the cold and can be used throughout the year.
Using these materials allows you to create a year-round outdoor living space. This season, organise the garden so you have a primary seating area. This usually centres the fire pit, providing warmth on the cold winter nights. Alternatively, seating can be arranged on the patio or deck leading directly from your home, making it easier and more attractive to get outdoors this season.
3) Weather-Proof Textiles & Layers
Once you have your furniture and primary outdoor living space designed, it is time to add the cosy features for winter appeal. Winter garden design aims to create a warm and cosy environment, which cannot be done without soft textiles.
When selecting textiles for your winter garden design, you must choose fabrics that withstand moisture and low temperatures, such as solution-dyed acrylic, Olefin, or polyester with a waterproof coating. These can be used for cushions and throw blankets, which should be added to outdoor seating to make it more comfortable and warm.
Outdoor rugs are also a great solution for winter garden design, as they can insulate flooring and also provide enhanced visual appeal. With these soft furnishings, you can create a garden that is just as comfortable and inviting as any other room in the home.
4) Lighting for Winter Ambience
Outdoor lighting is a highly effective design tool and is vital during the winter when the days are shorter. To fight the dark nights and create a cosy environment outdoors, rely on battery-operated or mains-powered lighting.
While solar-powered fixtures are popular for outdoor spaces, the lack of sunlight this season makes them almost obsolete. You want to be able to enjoy a well-illuminated and cosy garden all season long, which is why alternative forms of power will be needed in winter garden design.
Various forms of lighting can add colour, warmth, and interest to your winter garden. For example, string lights and lanterns are a great way to create a warm, inviting ambience around seating or dining areas. It is recommended to use warm-toned lighting, particularly during the winter, as this is gentle on the eyes and creates a comfortable setting.
Alternatively, if you want to add some festive cheer to your garden, you can rely on coloured LEDs. Decorative lighting, such as outdoor fairy lights or fence lighting in bright shades, can make your garden festive. These are ideal for garden parties and occasions where you want to spread cheer.
As well as the decorative lighting fixtures, make sure to include security and safety lighting within your winter garden design. Pathway lighting and spotlights keep the garden safe and accessible throughout the winter nights, preventing injury and ensuring the whole family can enjoy the cosy landscape with ease.
For more lighting ideas, see our post How to Illuminate Your Cheshire Garden: Outdoor Lighting Tips.
5) Incorporating Natural Decor
Garden design would not be complete without soft landscaping, and this applies all year round. While winter garden design may focus on creating a warm outdoor living environment, planting still has a role to play.
This season, incorporating natural decor elements can elevate your winter garden design and make your space stand out. Plants and shrubs are a great way to adorn outdoor living environments, and can continue to provide visual interest as the seasons progress.
Some of the best plants to include in your winter garden design include:
- Evergreen Plants: Plants such as Juniper, which is a hardy, low-maintenance evergreen, and Dwarf Alberta Spruce, which has a similar appearance to Christmas trees, are staples in winter garden design. These plants keep their foliage all year round, maintaining the visual appeal and structure of your garden this winter. They can be used in borders or in containers to adorn patios, decks and outdoor dining spaces.
- Winter Shrubs: Shrubs such as Winterberry Holly, with its bright winter berries, and Boxwood with its evergreen foliage, are a great option for borders and screening this winter. These shrubs offer texture and structure to your winter garden design, creating dividers for your garden zones or maintaining the privacy in your garden.
- Seasonal Wreaths: Relying on seasonal plants, such as pinecones, holly and festive fruits like oranges, can be a great way to add interest to your winter garden design. Natural seasonal wreaths offer aesthetic appeal, as well as beautiful fragrances and texture to your outdoor space, evoking nostalgia with every breeze. They can also be used within the home for unique festive decoration, as well as around seating areas, decking, or outdoor kitchens.
For more winter planting ideas, see our post How To Add Colour To Your Garden This Winter.
Conclusion
Winter garden design is a great way to prolong the use of your outdoor space. This form of garden design centres on warmth and comfort, creating a garden that can be used all year round. It allows you to expand your living space throughout the festive season and continue enjoying the outdoors, no matter the weather.
By incorporating outdoor heaters, weatherproof soft furnishings and seasonal plants, you can create a cosy outdoor space this season. Working with leading garden designers, like Creative Gardens & Driveways, makes this process easier. With our skills and experience, we can design your ideal outdoor space for every season.
Contact Us Today
To learn more about our services or to request a quote, please contact the team today.
FAQs
How can I keep my outdoor space warm without using a fire pit or heater?
While fire pits and outdoor heaters are the best option for winter garden design, you can keep your outdoor space cosy this season by layering thick, weather-resistant blankets and cushions to trap body heat. Adding outdoor rugs will insulate cold floors, while windbreaks like screens, curtains, or hedges reduce chilly drafts.
What outdoor fabrics hold up best during winter?
Fabrics like solution-dyed acrylic are ideal because they resist fading, water, and freezing temperatures. Olefin (polypropylene) is quick-drying and resistant to mould, mildew, and stains. Polyester treated with waterproof coatings or marine-grade vinyl is also an excellent option, as it withstands moisture and cold without cracking or losing durability.
Can I use indoor furniture outside during winter if protected?
Indoor furniture can be used outdoors for short periods, but it isn’t designed to handle moisture, frost, or extreme temperature changes. If you choose to use it, keep it under a covered area and lift it off the ground to prevent dampness. Using waterproof covers and removing cushions can help, but for long-term use, weather-resistant outdoor furniture is a safer choice.
