What Do Landscapers Do in the Winter? 19 Fall & Winter Landscaping Services to Keep a Steady Income

1. Yard cleanup services

Yard cleanup is a popular and easy-to-add-on service. By the end of summer, there’s plenty of organic matter and debris like leaves, weeds, trash, and rotting fruit that you can remove from client lawns.

The perfect time to offer this service is late summer to mid-fall. However, you could really offer it year-round—for example, after storms or if a client has left their yard unattended for a long time.

A typical fall yard clean service will include:

• Leaf and debris removal
• Removing dead plants
• Lawn mowing
• Garden bed cleanup
• Pruning and trimming trees or bushes on the property
• Weed control
• Tidying any other outdoor areas (e.g., sweeping decks and patios)

Try offering a fall cleanup towards the end of your seasonal lawn mowing contract. Most homeowners want to enjoy the last days of summer instead of working on their lawns and will be grateful to keep their grass looking fresher, longer.

2. Winter lawn prep

Winter lawn prep and maintenance ensures your clients’ lawns can withstand damage caused by harsh weather and are more likely to bounce back in the spring.

Your customers have invested top dollar to keep their property in tip-top shape throughout the summer. Don’t let that investment go to waste during the winter.

Offer a comprehensive winter lawn prep package that includes:

• Draining all sprinklers and hoses to prepare for freezing temperatures
• Aerating the soil by dethatching the lawn
• Pruning trees and shrubs and wrapping plants in burlap
• Removing all leaves, weeds, and debris from the lawn
• Removing dead grass, leaves, and plants from flower beds
• Keeping the lawn dry to prevent snow mold build-up
• Removing and storing all patio furniture
• Spring debris removal and fertilizing to make lawn mowing easier

3. Leaf removal contracts

Most people associate raking leaves with the fall. In reality, leaf removal is often needed well into winter to keep lawns healthy and prevent snow mold.

Clearing fallen leaves off the grass often requires multiple visits, as some trees can take months to lose all of their foliage. A lawn care contract that includes leaf removal can help you secure steady work and income.

Reach out to customers with large or multiple trees on their properties. Faced with a bigger job, these customers are often willing to pay for recurring leaf removal services.

4. Winter weed removal

Stand out from the competition by offering weed removal for fall and winter irritants like chickweed, henbit, and shepherd’s purse, which thrive in the cold. 

Preventative measures will help stop the spread of weeds and make your job much easier once spring rolls back around.

Since you already have all the right landscaping tools, starting a weed removal service can be a great addition to your lawn care business during any season.

5. Snow removal

Many lawn care service providers transition their business in winter by offering snow removal services.

While snow plowing may seem like a natural fit, starting a snow removal business can require a substantial investment in snow plows, salters, and snow plow insurance. (Not to mention the added wear and tear on your work trucks.)

If you’re not ready to front the added costs needed to plow parking lots, you could offer residential snow removal services to your existing lawn-mowing clients. Use a shovel or snow blower to plow sidewalks and driveways until you’re ready to invest more.

READ MORE: How to run a successful snow removal business

6. Christmas light installs and takedowns

Starting a holiday lights installation business can provide landscapers with a couple of months of winter work. It’s also a big help to your clients because many homeowners are looking for a gorgeous light display without the hassle.

Christmas light installation is an opportunity to extend your business with all-inclusive installation, maintenance, takedown, and storage.

While installing holiday lights can be highly profitable for professional landscapers or lawn care service providers, keep in mind that the holiday season is short. Most customers want their lights up by December 1st and taken down by January 31st.

READ MORE: Tips for a successful Christmas lights installation season

7. Winter mulching

Winter mulching should be on your landscaping services list as yet another way to generate winter income for any landscaper. Mulch acts as a layer of insulation to keep the ground frozen and plants dormant, especially throughout brief, warm-temperature spikes.

For best results, offer mulching to protect perennial plants from cold weather damage once the ground has hardened or after the first hard frost. Winter maintenance can also block weeds and pests from penetrating the surface of your soil.

8. Gutter cleaning

Waiting too long to clean out leaves and other debris from gutters can have costly impacts, resulting in roof leaks or structural damage to your property.

You don’t have to make a major investment in tools or equipment—all you need is a sturdy ladder. This makes gutter cleaning a winning addition to your landscaping and lawn care services.

9. Plant trees and shrubs

Cooler temperatures make labor-intensive jobs such as planting young trees and shrubs much more comfortable. As long as the ground isn’t frozen, winter is a good time for planting.

While the typical range for plant installations is between $1,251 and $6,058, some professional landscapers will charge anywhere from $300 to $10,800. That means a few large-scale planting gigs could get you through the slow winter season.

10. Pressure washing

Early spring and fall are good times to offer pressure washing services. Offer to pressure wash pergolas, fences, patios, decks, planters, and driveways to clear off any grime or dirt that may have built up over the summer or winter months.

Depending on the scope and surface area, average pressure washing prices range from $55 to $600. And since pressure washers are fairly affordable (starting around $150), adding pressure washing to your service list is a small investment with big rewards.

11. Firewood delivery

Firewood delivery is an excellent way to stay active during the fall and winter months. It shouldn’t add too many additional costs since you can use your existing vehicles to transport the product.

You can collect a haul of firewood over the course of the spring and summer from tree removals, or partner with a firewood provider in need of delivery services. Either way, this is a great option to expand your service offerings to existing and new clients.

Firewood delivery is also great for repeat business so you can lock down delivery commitments for the entire season.

12. Indoor plant care

Help existing or new clients with watering, pruning, plant selection and recommendations, and any other maintenance needs they have for their indoor plants.

You’re already a pro at taking care of lawns and landscaping outdoors, so why not apply that to the greenery inside?

And since indoor plants need attention all fall and winter, you can set up regular visits (and payments) to keep your business active and your clients happy.

13. Commercial landscaping

Commercial landscaping contracts are a great way to lock down consistent work over the winter. There are countless businesses in need of property maintenance—especially for parking lots, sidewalks, and ornamental plants.

There are plenty of commercial needs that your landscaping business can fulfill, like snow removal, salting, de-icing, and tree trimming. These contracts give you the opportunity to build long-term relationships and generate business all year.

14. Hardscaping projects

There are windows throughout the year where it’s too cold to do any planting, but not too cold to add new hardscape. You likely already have many of the tools you need to do it, such as wheelbarrows and shovels.

You can offer patio, retaining wall, fire pit, and garden bed construction, along with other hardscape features to improve their property without the need for live plants (yet).

If your clients are happy with your hardscaping, you’ll be their first call when they’re ready for softscaping in the warmer months.

15. Landscaping equipment maintenance

If you perform maintenance on your machines and equipment, you can offer this service to residential and commercial clients over the winter months.

For example, you can sharpen blades on lawn mowers, keep snow blowers operational, or clean out fuel lines on machines to prepare them for the summer months.

These services help you maintain and build on your relationship with clients. Even if you’re not doing the work, you’re still helping keep their equipment in good condition so they can do the job themselves.

16. Landscaping design

While you might not be able to do any building or planting in the winter, you can help clients plan future landscaping projects.

Whether people or businesses are looking to replace existing features or add new elements to their properties, you can help them get a head start and be prepared for the warmer months.

Market your landscape design services and meet with clients at their properties to plan around their needs. You’ll be in a prime position to get work lined up for the spring.

17. Ice rink setup and maintenance

As a professional landscaper, you can set up and maintain public or private ice rinks throughout the winter. You can level the ground, build the borders needed to support the rink, flood the surface with water, clear snow, and fix any chips or uneven patches.

The setup is a one-time deal, but maintenance is required for the season. Once the warmer weather rolls in, you can deconstruct the ice rink and prepare the property for spring and summer.

18. Winter water feature maintenance

Ponds and other water features on public and private properties require a lot of maintenance in the offseason to keep them running properly in the spring and summer.

You can offer services like:

• Winterizing pipes and pumps
• Cleaning debris and buildup from the water and equipment
• Maintaining water levels
• Removing ice buildup or installing heaters to deal with it automatically
• Fixing or improving filtration systems
• Checking components to ensure the water feature is working as expected

19. Work on your business, not in it

Finally, if adding new exterior services isn’t on your roadmap this year, don’t sweat it. You can do lots during the winter months to work on your business instead of in it.

As an entrepreneur, even with changes in seasonal demand, you’ll find that there is no slow season—just a different kind of growth season.

Here are some productive winter landscaping jobs that’ll prepare your business for serious growth in the upcoming year:

• Assess your business spending. Take a good look at your overhead and material costs. Now could be a good time to negotiate with your suppliers to ensure a higher profit margin.
• Rethink your pricing strategy. Are your prices competitive? How can you be more profitable? Would better bundles attract more customers? Give your pricing strategy a look to make sure you’re generating the revenue you deserve.
• Price new services. To get the most out of new services for any season, make sure you price your landscaping and lawn care services to cover costs and earn a profit.
• Put new systems in place. Is your landscaping CRM (customer relationship management) software working for you? How about your invoicing software? Get up to date on the best apps for lawn care businesses to keep your business running smoothly.
• Clean and maintain your tools. Landscaping tools aren’t cheap—so treat them right. Use quiet days to take stock of your inventory and do any necessary repairs.
• Hire and train lawn care professionals. Spend your off-season hiring and training lawn care employees for the spring season.
• Listen to your customers. Ask your customers which winter landscaping service options would be most valuable to them. Your next high-margin service could be something you haven’t even thought of.

READ MORE: How to grow a landscaping business