DECEMBER IN MY GARDEN
Now is the time to sit before a lovely fire and get out your seed catalogue and plan your garden for next year. I sowed my broad beans last month from saved seed and I always keep the dried pods which make excellent kindling. There may even be some items in the catalogue you might want to add to your own Christmas list! With the ash dieback disease remember the old saying : Ash mature or green, makes a fire fit for a Queen!
You can plan any structural changes for your garden too this month and still have several winter months ahead to implement the changes. Prepare the ground for these changes, for new lawns and new areas to be planted next year. Fences should be repaired and wooden trellis and pergolas will benefit from treatment with a wood preservative.
There are still some leaves to be raked but some left around the roots of shrubs will help protect them from the winter cold as well as Clean the paths and driveways removing lichen and moss.
In the vegetable garden there will be celery, beetroot, turnips, swedes, sprouts, carrots, parsnips and Jerusalem artichokes to harvest. When the weather allows the rest of the vegetable garden should be cleaned and dug, digging in some well rotted farmyard manure and some garden compost.
If Dahlias have been lifted inspect them and dust with flowers of sulphur. Cut back potted pelargonium to 6 – 9 inches above the base. Clean and prepare seed trays for spring sowing. Clean out the greenhouse, wash the glass, move any plants out while sterilising with Jeyes fluid.
Plant deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs if the ground allows. Do not try to plant if the ground is wet and sticky or frozen. There is an old saying that shallots should be planted on the shortest day of the year and harvested on the longest. Pinch the tops out of your sweet pea seedlings if you made an autumn sowing.
Prune any overgrown trees and shrubs and deciduous hedges. Prune any grape vines before Christmas to prevent any bleeding. Half prune roses and begin the winter pruning of soft and tree fruits. Take hardwood cuttings from deciduous climbers such as Wisteria and Carnation cuttings towards the end of the month.
Collect holly -with berries if possible- as well as some colourful stems and winter flowering shrubs, to decorate the house at Christmas. We make our own wreath using seasonal foliage and berries and seed heads stuck into a base of bracken tied round with twine which looks lovely and welcoming on the front door.
Protect any tender vulnerable plants if the temperatures plummet. They say “Clear moon – frost soon, Halo around the moon, rain soon!” If it snows shake the snow off shrubs and trees to prevent damage. The birds will be feeling the cold so now is a good time to start feeding them, if you haven’t already started.
Finally enjoy the festive season with your family and friends because the gardening season officially ends on 31st December – and starts on 1st January! (Marie Huston)
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Gardening Year!
The Gardening Year