Snow-Kissed Soil & Sacred Stillness: 5 Things Gardeners Can Do in Winter

Snow-Kissed Soil & Sacred Stillness: 5 Things Gardeners Can Do in Winter 

It’s 6:30 a.m. here in early December, and Virginia has decided to gift us her first real snow of the season. I’m bundled in my wool socks and a chunky sweater big enough to classify as its own zip code. My dogs—bless their fluffy enthusiasm—are outside barreling through the snow like toddlers who’ve just discovered sugar.

Meanwhile, I’m inside drinking way too much coffee (we will not be counting mugs today) and staring out the sliding glass door at my garden. It’s tucked under a blanket of white, the brussels sprouts and broccoli completely hidden except for a few brave, pointy hints of garlic peeking through.

And honestly? I love this time.

Winter forces me to do something I struggle with in every other season: rest.
As gardener Henry Mitchell once wrote, “There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments.” Winter reminds me that even the waiting is part of the experiment God is unfolding.

The Garden’s Sabbath

The Bible talks so richly about rest—holy, intentional, God-designed rest.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”
— Ecclesiastes 3:1

Winter is the garden’s Sabbath. A divinely appointed pause. Nothing is pushing, blooming, or producing. Everything is still. Everything is quiet. Everything is rebuilding beneath the surface.

Or, as garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence said, “There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.” Winter becomes the enchanted pause before the fragrant morning—the unseen work before the reveal.

Just like us.
Just like our souls.

Gardening reminds me that rest is not laziness; rest is obedience. Even the soil knows this.

And speaking of soil…

Why You Don’t Want to Clear Your Beds

If you’re tempted to go out there, broom in hand, ready to whisk away every leaf and snowflake—stop right there, my friend. Put the broom down. Sip your coffee. Return to cozy.

Snow actually acts like a protective blanket, insulating the soil from harsh temperature swings. Leaves do the same thing—and as they break down, they feed the soil with organic matter rich in nutrients.

Earthworms adore leaf mulch. Microbes thrive under it. Your spring garden will thank you.

And you? You are far too busy today drinking coffee, reading devotionals, and pretending those texts do not exist. And that is holy work.

Five Things Gardeners CAN Do in Winter

(Other than stare lovingly at frozen vegetables.)

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1. Garden Journaling

One of my favorite winter garden activities is pulling out my battered, soil-smudged garden journal. I write about everything:

• what worked

• what failed gloriously

• what I want to try next year

• little sketches and diagrams

• new seeds I’m eyeing

• wild ideas I may or may not ever attempt

Last year, I learned all about growing luffa plants. I wrote notes, sketched the trellis, planned my start date. I began seeds indoors in March… and now? I’m giving homegrown luffas as Christmas gifts. (Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like “Here’s a vegetable you can shower with.”)

Winter journaling is planning with hope.
It’s imagining what God will grow next.
And remember this beautiful winter gardener’s truth:
“Beneath the snow and silence, the roots are riotous.”

2. Dream & Plan Your Spring Garden

Winter is prime time for gardeners to become dreamers.

Spread out your seed catalogs like a child dumping out LEGOs. Make vision boards. Rearrange imaginary garden beds. Decide once and for all if this is the year you finally grow lavender successfully. (Spoiler: you’re going to try again anyway.)

Proverbs 21:5 tells us,
“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance.”

Planning is part of the harvest—long before the first seed touches the soil.

3. Tend to Your Tools

Your gloves may be stiff and tragic. Your shears may have sap on them from 2022. Your trowel may or may not be buried somewhere by your dog.

Winter is a perfect time to:

• scrub soil off pots

• oil your pruners

• clean tools

• reorganize your gardening space

• find the gloves with fingertips still intact

It’s oddly satisfying and will make spring feel smooth and prepared.

4. Feed Your Soil (Yes, in Winter!)

Even while your garden sleeps, the soil is alive.

Winter is a great time to:

• add compost

• throw down mulch

• let leaves break down naturally

• start a new compost bin

• add worm castings or manure to beds (they’ll mellow over time)

Healthy soil is the secret to a thriving garden—and winter is when much of that work happens quietly underground.

5. Practice Patience

We gardeners are professional hopers. We wait constantly—sometimes for months, sometimes for seasons.

Winter is the ultimate patience trainer.

We cannot rush spring.
We cannot force seeds to sprout.
We cannot command the snow to melt.

The waiting becomes spiritual.

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
— Romans 8:25

God uses the waiting seasons to deepen our roots long before He lets us bloom.

This winter, I’m choosing to rest with the garden. To sip my coffee without guilt. To enjoy the dogs leaping through snowdrifts. To pray. To plan. To let God work in the quiet places.

Because beneath that blanket of white, life is already stirring.

And when spring comes…
Oh, the things we will grow.

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