The last two years have seen a huge increase in individuals tending to and cultivating their gardens. It's fair to say that the blood, sweat, and tears put into creating these unique and original outdoor spaces have certainly paid off; the creative eye has really thrived in the great outdoors despite the stresses of the global pandemic. But just like with anything, maintenance is key to ensuring that these wonderful outdoor spaces stay, well, wonderful!
Seasonal demands also require us to manage our gardens in different ways at different points of the year. Winter, in particular, bestows weather upon us which means we have to work harder to keep our gardens healthy. But have no fear... we can help you to make the right calls in order to keep your gardens the way you envisioned them and worked rigorously to execute. Our garden centre manager Cory has provided us this week with a list of essential gardening maintenance tasks for you to adopt this January. Follow Cory's simple and easy steps and you'll be sure to keep your garden in top shape this winter.
Mulch garden beds and borders
Apply a mulch of bark or well-rotted organic material to help insulate plant roots from the worst frosts, and keep early emerging weeds at bay.
Prune apple and pear trees
It is important to reduce long summer growth back to within a few buds of the main stems, as this encourages lots of flowering and fruiting 'spurs'.
It is also the time to prune Acer and Birch trees so that they don't bleed heavy sap, something that can weaken the trees and introduce disease.
Start to plan
It might be too early to plant anything, but that shouldn't stop you from planning changes and additions to beds and borders right now. It's never a bad shout to start planning any seed sowing you wish to do in the season ahead either!
Prepare seed potatoes for planting
'Chit' your potatoes in a frost-free place in January, ready for planting out in February and March. Doing this now will lead to much better crops later on.
You can also prepare any potato planting beds with manure and compost now, ready for planting.
Clean and disinfect tools
Even your tools deserve a little love. Make sure to clean them, disinfecting the blades of cutting tools to prevent the spread of diseases. Give the lawn mower some fuss too by cleaning it over ahead of the mowing season.
Regularly check your greenhouse
A greenhouse is a nice sheltered spot... but not just for plants, unfortunately. Keep an eye out for bugs and deal with the issues when they arise.
Check pots for water
If you have plants wrapped in fleece to protect them from frost, check them on warmer days, and if there's no frost forecast, give them a well-deserved day off!
Clean ponds and water features
Trim the old leaves from Hellebores
Lastly... get excited!