As gardeners across the UK look ahead to spring, new search data reveals the winter gardening tasks people are Googling most and prioritising for spring prep, with pruning dominating interest throughout January, February and March.

The analysis examined more than 1,200 gardening-related Google search terms, using January to March 2025 data as a benchmark to predict the gardening jobs and priorities homeowners are likely to focus on during winter this year. The findings show that winter is firmly a season of preparation, with gardeners using the colder months to research and carry out essential groundwork before the growing season begins.

Across all months analysed, pruning-related tasks account for the majority of winter gardening searches, as homeowners focus on preparing trees, shrubs and plants for healthy spring growth.

According to Colin Potts, garden expert at Artificial Grass Direct, winter gardening is less about instant results and more about long-term success.

“Winter is when good gardens are made,” says Colin. “The jobs people do, or don’t do, have a huge impact on how their garden looks and grows in spring.”

When grouped by topic, pruning clearly emerges as the most searched-for winter gardening job and for good reason. In January 2025 alone, the broad search term “pruning” attracted around 18,100 searches, before rising to 14,800 in February and then jumping to over 22,200 searches in March, as gardeners moved from planning to action.

Interest in specific plants follows a similar pattern. Searches for “pruning apple trees” remained consistently high throughout winter, with 9,900 searches in January, increasing to 12,100 in February, before holding steady into March. This makes fruit trees one of the single biggest focus areas for winter garden preparation.

Preparation-focused jobs also show strong seasonal growth. Searches for “garden clearance” more than doubled, rising from 2,900 searches in January to 3,600 in February, before reaching 6,600 searches in March, highlighting a surge in urgency as spring approaches.

When grouped together, the most Googled winter gardening jobs include pruning, garden clearance and tidying, preparing soil and beds for spring and dealing with frost or winter damage.