“A New Start…”

I always regard January as being the month for armchair gardening.

It’s the time to browse through seed and gardening catalogues or books and plan the garden for the next growing season.

Unfortunately many people don’t think about planning the garden until spring and wish for a perfect garden by the summer, which is not always possible, so now is the time to get planning if you want that lovely garden to enjoy later in the year.

In this weather there’s no better place to plan you garden than by the fireside.

However, if you do feel the need to get out into the fresh air and do some gardening exercise to burn off a few of those festive calories then there are always a few jobs that can be done in the garden.

To start with, rake and sweep up the last of the fallen autumn leaves to keep good hygiene in the garden. You may also find that the frost may have killed off perennials in your flower borders, so these need to be cut down and cleared away and of course there is always a bit of weeding that can be done if you can the brave the winter elements.

Pick a mild day to prune fruit and deciduous trees, cut out dead, diseased or any crossing branches to maintain a healthy tree. Also this is the time of year to plant bare rooted trees, shrubs and roses and again chose a dry mild frost-free day and never plant into frozen ground.

If you need to stretch your legs, then there are so many gardens that you can visit, just wrap up warm and enjoy a bracing walk to blow away the winter cobwebs. You can contact the National Trust and the Royal Horticultural Society and they can give you details of which gardens are open during the winter and details of the opening times.

Most of these gardens will have a restaurant or café where you can enjoy a hot drink to warm up while you get your ideas for your own garden. I think that winter gardens can be very attractive and interesting is planned well.

That’s it again for this week.

Subscribe Free To This Blog By Clicking Here