11 Fun Winter Gardening Projects to Cure Cabin Fever

Cabin fever gets the best of us! A little seasonal change is welcome by the time December rolls around. The wet, cold winter weather grows tiresome for gardeners. We want fresh soil to dig into or a new garden bed to fill.

There are ways to combat this cooped-up feeling. You can bring the outdoors inside and start an indoor garden or use your creativity to plan next year’s outdoor garden. Although it’s cold outside, there are fun winter gardening projects anyone can do to warm up their body. 

We’ll start with fun crafts that utilize outdoor materials, then we’ll look at indoor seed starting and plant growing. Finally, we’ll explore what there is to do outside within the garden. Grab your coat and get ready to banish your cabin fever with these winter gardening projects!

Garland and Wreath Making

Boughs are all you need to start making wreaths and garlands. They’re pieces of branches from evergreen conifers like pines, firs, and spruces. Gather some fallen branches from backyard trees, or cut them off of healthy conifers. 

There are many things you can do with boughs. Arrange branches in a circle with twine to form a wreath, or in a line to create a table centerpiece. Long, thin lines form garlands to hang up in your home, and bushy, short ones make swags for hanging on a door or window. 

Although these four forms are common, you may want to create your own! Experiment with evergreen foliage from different trees to create the ideal wreath or garland according to your tastes. 

Winter Bouquets

In the same vein as garland and wreath making is winter bouquet arranging. Gather bare deciduous branches, evergreen boughs, and indoor flowers to make floral arrangements. They’ll add life and color to tables and countertops during the holiday season, providing winter interest indoors!

Use whatever materials you have on hand. This activity requires a few tools! You need a pair of pruners or snips to cut branches and a vase or mason jar to hold the bouquet. Place the cut stems into the jar, fill it with water, and place it where you’d like color and fragrance in your home.

Bouquets last their longest when they’re far from cold or hot drafts. They appreciate some light, although direct sunlight isn’t necessary. Change their water once a week to keep them fresh and healthy.

Pine Cone Crafts

Are pine cones plentiful in your yard? Put them to good use by using them in winter garden art projects like centerpieces and table arrangements. Stuff a few dozen in a clear glass container for a Christmassy look. Many stores sell cinnamon pine cones around the holidays. Make them yourself to avoid paying exorbitant prices for these natural materials.

To make cinnamon pine cones, first clean the cones of any dirt or debris. Bake them with your lowest oven temperature for 30 minutes to kill bacteria, fungi, or bugs. Let them cool, then place them in a bag with a few drops of cinnamon essential oils and cinnamon sticks. Let them marinate inside the bag for a day or two before placing them throughout your home.

Force Flowers

Flowers aren’t just for the outdoors; many bulbs offer indoor blooms weeks before they appear outside. Amaryllis, tulips, daffodils, and crocus are a few plants you can place in a pot with water to force them to bloom. This winter gardening project adds color and beauty to your home while the outdoors are frigid.

The key is placing gravel into the bottom of the container, that way the bulb has media to grow its roots into. The gravel prevents rot and it helps support the growing bulb. Change the water weekly, and place your growing bulbs near bright indirect light close to a window. 

Most bulbs require a pre-chill period before they bloom. If you bought arrangements at the store they’re ready to grow, although bags of bulbs meant for outdoor growing will need a chill period. Place them in your fridge, then take them out to grow when they’re done. Most species need two or more months for their chilling period.

Plan Next Year’s Garden

Why not dream a little? Although you can’t plant crops outdoors, you can take advantage a slow winter day to create a layout for next year’s garden while making plans for new beds and projects you want to implement. Maybe you want to switch your tomatoes with the squash, or you want to create a new garden bed out of your lawn. No matter your plans, winter is a good time to start plotting them out. 

I like to use a pen and paper to plan out the garden. This may require scratching out and starting over, but it’s nice to have a piece of paper to work on. You may also use the new Epic Gardening Garden Planner software to design your space. New drawing tools on tablets and computers work well for plotting out a garden. 

Start Seeds Indoors

After drawing up a new garden plan, you’ll want to start thinking about sourcing the plants to fill empty beds. Look through mail-in catalogs that appear in December and January, shop at local nurseries, or look online for quality seeds. You can also save seeds throughout the year for free seedlings when you need them!

Once you source the seeds, prepare pots for starting them. Fill small pots with potting soil, plant the seeds, and water them well. Seedlings need anywhere from one to three weeks to germinate, while some may require longer than a month. Practice patience, and help your seedlings grow by moderating their conditions. 

Many seedlings require warm soil temperatures to germinate, and they’ll appreciate bright light from a window or grow lights. Consider adding a heat mat below seedlings like peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants to boost their germination rates. 

Create an Indoor Garden

If you already have grow lights, heat mats, and an indoor growing setup, you might as well start growing crops indoors! Many herbs and leafy greens are easy to grow under grow lights or bright light, allowing you to enjoy flavorful leaves and tender stems no matter the season.

Other things to consider in an indoor garden are water levels, airflow, and pot size. Most plants appreciate moist, not soggy conditions while they grow in containers. Wait to water until after the surface dries to avoid root rot pathogens. 

Add a simple fan to the grow room to encourage air circulation. Arrange the fan so the flow blows near, but not on your plants. Pot size is important to consider if you’re growing perennial plants for many seasons indoors. They’ll eventually need larger containers after you see roots poking out of the drainage holes. 

Birding

Birding is a long favorite pastime that’s making a comeback! Birds are elusive, flighty creatures that flee when you get close to them. Take up birding to watch them perform without interruption. Grab some binoculars, download a birding guide, and look up to the sky to see which species thrive in your local environment.

The more birds you study, the more in tune you’ll grow with the surrounding ecosystem. Birds feed on insects, fruits, and seeds, and other larger animals feed on them. They’re an integral part of the larger food web, and many other natural processes rely on their survival.

Garden Walks

Garden walks are another easy way to get outside and enjoy the outdoors. You may notice things you’ve never seen before, as winter is a beautiful season just like the other three. Some zones have mild winters with blooming flowers, while others experience heavy snowfall and frequent frosts.

Whether the weather is warm, cold, or frigid, there are things to look at during a winter garden walk! Layer with plenty of coats, mittens, and scarves to stay sufficiently warm. Then, head out into your backyard or hit up a local trail to see some wilderness. Look for animal tracks in the snow, emerging plants in the soil, and birds in the branches above.

Build a Compost Pile

Waste builds up quickly, and soil amendments are expensive. Fix both of these issues by starting a compost pile! This perfect winter gardening project turns rotting garden debris, kitchen scraps, and paper waste into rich, fertile humus that benefits plant roots.

Hot compost may be challenging to create in the winter, though cold compost works no matter the season! Piles are easy to make, simple to manage, and free to start with! Other contraptions like tumblers, bins, and containers work too, although they’re not necessary for composting.

Plant Bulbs

While gathering bulbs to force indoors, save a few to plant outside. It may still be early enough for you to plant spring-blooming bulbs like daffodils, tulips, and snowdrops. You may also plant garlic in the cold months when winters are long and freezing.

Avoid planting bulbs if the ground is already frozen solid. Frozen soil encourages heaving, where the bulbs pop out of the ground as the soil freezes and thaws repeatedly. If it’s too late, pop your bulbs in the fridge and pull them out months later in spring. Plant them a few weeks before the last average frost date and they may still bloom!