The Winter Garden

Many may feel the depths of winter are not a time to be in the garden and the only type of gardening jobs that should be considered, are flicking through seed catalogues while sitting cosy in front of a fire. But the winter is in fact a good time to carry out remedial and repair work in the garden and get the garden ready for the next growing season.

falling down fences

The first thing to look at is the garden boundaries, now that a lot of plant cover will have died down, check all walls, remove any large quantities of ivy, it is good for wild life so leave some, but it can be a disaster with old mortar particularly on flint walls. Also check fences and posts, that they will be up to winter winds. If repair work is needed, then while plants are dormant this is the time of year to have the work carried out.

Over grown wall

Now that it is mid winter, take time to walk round your trees and check all trees ties, which may have become loose in the autumn gales.

check tress ties

While large sections of the garden are dormant, now is the time to add a thin layer of garden compost or well rotted farm yard or horse manure, over whole beds or round the base of shrubs and trees, Also top up mulch on flower boarders. Be sure not to build up the height of compost round trunks and crowns.

adding compost

Now is the time of year to get cracking on pruning your Apple and Pear trees. Removing dead and diseased wood, branches that rub and prune to fruiting spurs, for full details on fruit tree pruning see January 2016 blog.

fruit tree pruning

Check climbing plants and wall shrubs, make sure they are tied in well and will not be pulled off the walls and fences in the winter storms.

tieing in wall shrubs

If you have free standing structures in the garden like archways, pergolas, trellis sections, now is a good time to check them, and repair where needed also carry out any re-staining, while most of the planting has died down.

staining trellis and fences

So as you can see there is a lot of gardening to carry out in January, but hopefully you have planted some good scented winter shrubs and hellebores and snow drops which will cheer the sole while you work.

Winter Garden Magic

Happy Gardening.