January Gardening

When the festive season is over if you have a real tree please recycle by chipping it for use on the garden or take it to the recycling centre. If you have the space the tree can be cut up into small pieces and stacked in a corner of the garden to biodegrade naturally giving a home to the creatures in the garden and eventually feed the plants around it.

On a cold wet day there is nothing more uplifting than looking at plant and seed catalogues and planning what to include in your garden later in the year. Buy seeds early so you are not disappointed.

On a bright and sunny day now is great time to prune apple and pear trees when there are no leaves and you can really see what you are doing. If you are unsure of what to do then the RHS website gives very clear advice.

If you have rhubarb and enjoy it pale and tender early in the season then pop something like an old chimney pot over the top and put a top on it and the darkness will “force” it to grow early.

Clean the greenhouse and your pots ready for new planting. Have a walk around the garden and enjoy signs of new life emerging from the soil. If there are any weeds popping up then nip them out as you go. Keep feeding your compost with your kitchen waste ready for the spring.

Please keep putting out food and water out for the birds especially if there is frost or snow they will be rewarding to watch and it will be a huge help to get them through the winter ready for nesting in the spring. Children will love having a competition to list the birds they have seen.

Keep warm and take the time to walk around our wonderful area and enjoy nature… and Happy New Year!!

The Tidy Gardener