Making sure your garden is up to scratch can be a difficult task to maintain throughout the year, especially during the winter time.

Knowing when to plant certain flowers is not always common knowledge, and if you are growing vegetables having the right facts in mind can be an enormous benefit.

For those wondering about that and other winter gardening tips, help is at hand.

Using data from SEMRush, Answer the Public and Also Asked, the garden and outdoors specialists at Hayter Mowers have answered some of the most common winter gardening questions.

Midweek Herald: Certain flowers and vegetables are more suited to being planted at winterCertain flowers and vegetables are more suited to being planted at winter (Image: Canva)

When is the best time to plant vegetables in winter?

Winter vegetables are best planted in late autumn or early winter, giving them the best chance to survive.

Most winter vegetables, such as cabbage, leeks and turnips, can be helped throughout the colder months by using a greenhouse or cold frame to nurture their growth. 

If you have a greenhouse, start by scrubbing shade paint off the windows and giving them a thorough clean.

The nights drawing in earlier mean light intake must be maximised to help your plants thrive. 

It is also recommended to protect your outdoor plants from the elements with frost sheets.

When is the best time to plant flowers in winter?

In terms of planting flowers in winter, Hayter Mowers recommends getting perennials in the soil fairly early in the season.

They say: "The ground is usually moist during these times and will give your perennials the best chance of flourishing."

"As long as the ground is not completely covered in hard frost, then you can plant in winter. As always, you must check if what you are planting can survive or bloom in colder temperatures first," they add.

How to clean up your garden for winter

Cleaning up the borders of the garden can help make it more "aesthetically pleasing" during the winter and perennials should be cut back to 5cm above ground level. Compost should be added to the borders after that to give them nutrition.

If you have a pond in your garden consider netting it to catch stray leaves and prevent the water from turning foul.