A Guide to Overwintering

When the days shorten and the first frosts creep in, most gardeners hang up their trowels and wait for spring. But those in the know keep sowing, planting, and tucking treasures into the soil. Overwintering is the secret weapon of a productive and beautiful garden, it’s all about giving plants a head start, protecting them from the worst of winter, and letting nature do some of the heavy lifting.

Here’s a plant-by-plant guide to who can happily survive (and even thrive) through the colder months, ready to burst into life as soon as the sun returns.

Onions

Onions are perhaps the easiest entry point into overwintering. Autumn-planted sets settle their roots in before winter, then snooze through the cold, only to leap into growth when spring warms up. By getting them in now, you’ll be harvesting fat bulbs weeks before spring-sown onions. Just remember: good drainage is essential. Nobody likes soggy feet, especially onions.

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Broad Beans

Broad beans are hardy little troopers. Sow them in late autumn and they’ll sit tight through the frost, building strong root systems. By the time spring arrives, they’re already raring to go, often producing pods long before your neighbours have even sown theirs. A little fleece protection keeps them extra happy in harsher spots. Bonus: they fix nitrogen into your soil, making them excellent team players for crop rotation.

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Peas

Sow them in autumn and they’ll germinate, hunker down, and wait for spring to rocket upwards. The result? Early peas without the fuss of spring sowings. Protect with a cloche or mesh, because pigeons think overwintering pea shoots are their personal salad bar.

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Spring Onions

Think of overwintering spring onions as the gardener’s snack bar. Sow in autumn, and they’ll overwinter nicely, ready to give you crisp little stems early in the year. A true gift when fresh produce is thin on the ground.

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Calendula

Calendula (or pot marigold) is tough as old boots. Sow it in autumn and it will often soldier through winter, flowering on warmer days and bouncing straight back in spring. Self-seeding types are even lazier, they’ll scatter themselves and you’ll spot their rosettes popping up wherever they please. They’re not just pretty faces either, edible petals, pollinator magnets, and skin-soothing herbal uses.

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Sage

Woody Mediterranean herbs like sage don’t flinch at a bit of cold. In fact, overwintering sage is more about pruning and tidying than protecting. Keep it well-drained, snip it back after flowering, and it’ll stay evergreen all winter, ready to flavour roasts and stuffings. If you’re in a very cold, wet spot, consider a pot that can be tucked under cover when the weather turns especially vile.

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Oregano

Another Mediterranean marvel, oregano is tougher than it looks. Overwinter it in well-drained soil and it’ll die back a little, then surge back in spring. Container-grown oregano appreciates a sheltered spot by a wall. Give it this head start and you’ll have a happy, bushy plant ready to spice up pizzas and pasta before you know it.

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Chives

Chives are born survivors. They’ll die back in winter, often vanishing completely above ground, but don’t panic, they’re quietly waiting below the soil. Come spring, fresh green shoots reappear, often faster than you can say “omelette”. Overwintering chives is as simple as leaving them alone.

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Perennial Onion

These guys don’t care about the cold. In fact, they’re built for it. Their topsets (tiny onions on stalks) will drop, root, and create new plants even through chilly weather. With minimal effort, you’ll have an ever-expanding patch that basically looks after itself.

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Thyme

Thyme is another evergreen friend that doesn’t flinch at frost. As long as it has sharp drainage and isn’t waterlogged, it will quietly overwinter and keep offering sprigs of flavour. If yours is in a pot, raise it on feet to avoid winter rot. It’ll reward you with resilience and those tiny flowers that bees adore.

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Mountain Mint

A little less common but worth the space, mountain mint is ridiculously hardy. Once established, it’ll take a freeze without blinking. Like most mints, it spreads, so overwinter it in a pot if you don’t want it charging across your borders. In return, you’ll have strong, aromatic leaves that shrug off cold snaps.

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Pansy

The cheerful face of winter! Pansies are bred to bloom through cold, grey days when everything else sulks. Overwinter them in beds, borders, or pots, and they’ll keep flowering in bursts whenever the weather softens. The trick is deadheading, remove faded blooms and they’ll keep on smiling at you.

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Viola

Violas are the daintier cousins of pansies, but don’t let their size fool you, they’re just as tough. Overwintering violas is much the same: plant them in autumn and they’ll quietly cheer up your garden until spring. Bonus: their edible petals are perfect for decorating winter bakes and salads.

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Overwintering is less about coddling plants and more about picking the right ones to thrive. With a little planning, your garden doesn’t need to be bare from November to March. Instead, it can hum along quietly, storing energy, feeding pollinators, and offering you fresh herbs, veggies, and flowers while the world sleeps.

Embrace overwintering, and you’ll step into spring feeling like you cheated the seasons.