Blue Daisy Blog
Blue Daisy blog written by Nicki Jackson & Jules Clark - for news, views, garden design, gardening and plant observations and thoughts.
December Garden Advice
- Font size: Larger Smaller
- Hits: 45097
- 0 Comments
- Subscribe to this entry
- Bookmark
With Christmas fast approaching us the general pace of work in the garden is much more relaxed as there is a lot less urgency for jobs to be completed now. Many people think that there is nothing to do in December but you’d be surprised! It’s a great time for pruning woody ornamental plants, fruit trees and bushes because they are in their dormant period. Now that the leaves have almost finished dropping you can really see what you’re doing and can check to see if there is any dead or diseased wood to prune out. Don’t prune your Cornus (Dogwoods) though because their stem colour gives us some striking winter interest for our gardens.
Keep clearing any fallen leaves and save for leaf mould. Even though there are fewer garden pests and diseases around at this time of year keeping one step ahead of your garden hygiene – even in December – will reduce pest and disease problems in the spring and summer. If you find anything diseased you should really burn it rather than putting it in the compost heap. Remember too to leave a few areas undisturbed for overwintering beneficial insects like ladybirds.
Greenhouse and cold frame hygiene is also high on the list this month as the moist atmosphere is a perfect breeding ground for moulds and other diseases. Insulating your greenhouse or cold frame with bubble wrap will conserve heat for those overwintering plants you’ve brought in or if you’re getting ahead with any newly sewn seeds for next year.
You’ll find that whenever you’re out and about in the garden this month you’re likely to be followed around by a Robin looking for worms or insects that you may have disturbed. Winter is a difficult time for birds, so don’t forget to feed them regularly and give them clean water to bathe as they do become quite dependent on you to survive especially in the deep cold of winter (if it happens this year! It's been super mild again so far.)
For those of you that don’t want to go out into the garden you could start to think about what you want to do with the garden next year. Make a list of any plants you want to move or divide, any new plants you want to buy or seeds you want to order. Consider the different parts of your garden – are there any parts you would like to change? Would you like to add something to it, take something away, change the shape of it, incorporate vegetable beds, perhaps?
Whatever you have in mind, don’t forget that Blue Daisy can help you shape your garden with and for you, whether it is designing all or part of it and if you're not sure what you could do don't forget we also do advice sessions. These involve an hour of Nicki's time talking about your garden with you, it's amazing the amount of information you can get in an hour...
- A Garden for all Seasons - Garden Design 03 Oct
- Snow - a love hate relationship! - News & Views 07 Feb
- November Gardens - Gardening 02 Nov
- November Garden Jobs - Gardening 01 Nov
- January Garden Advice - Gardening 04 Jan
Nicki Jackson is Blue Daisy's garden designer & owner. A former HR consultant Nicki still finds the time to run Blue Daisy, design gardens and planting plans, write a blog, keep our gardening clients happy and offer IIP advice and outplacement support through Blue Daisy Consultancy.
- March Garden Jobs - Gardening 01 Mar
- March Gardens - Gardening 01 Mar
- February Garden Jobs - Gardening 01 Feb