Eleanor Clarke
GARDENING
Quick Gardening Jobs for the Twixmas Period
When the turkey leftovers have lost their appeal and (dare we say it) the Christmas rellies have begun to outstay their welcome, there’s nothing better than an escape to the garden on the pretext of A Few Little Jobs That Just Won’t Wait. If you’re lucky there’ll be a crisp blue sky, a touch of warming sun on the back and a cheerful, easygoing robin redbreast for company. Here are all the excuses you’ll need. Get out there, we promise you won’t regret it.
Move plants
Winter’s the time (as long as the soil’s not frozen solid) to shift anything in the garden that’s in the wrong place. Perhaps a shrub that’s become too big and begun to crowd out everything else in the border; a climber you mistakenly planted too close to the fence; or some perennials you placed in a spot that gets too much shade and they’ve done nothing but sulk… Don’t be afraid to rearrange things and see how they perform elsewhere. Do it now and there’s nothing to lose. Prepare the new planting spot first, then dig up your movers keeping as much as the rootball intact as you can, and pop them into their new spot, adding a few spadefuls of compost or well-rotted manure to help them settle in.
Dig over your veg beds
Here’s a nice winter job to counter the Christmas cheeseboard – and one that’s almost guaranteed to attract a beady-eyed robin on the lookout for worms. Clear out the remains of any old veg from your fruit and veg beds in preparation for spring sowing and planting. Hold back if the soil’s frozen or super soggy, though, or you’ll do more harm than good. Once you’ve dug over the soil, remove any large stone and weeds, then cover with a nice deep mulch of well-rotted manure and flattened cardboard boxes held down with a few bricks. You’ll thank yourself in April when you remove it to reveal the perfect veg-growing medium all ready and waiting for hungry plants like courgettes, green beans and tomatoes.
Give pots some love
If you’re feeling overstuffed but need the fresh air of 20 minutes spent in the garden, this one’s for you. A gentle stroll around, inspecting patio pots will ease you gently away from the selection box. Fallen leaves and decaying stems can gather around the base of plants encouraging disease, so snip them off, clear them away and not only will your pots look brighter and more colourful, but they’ll be healthier too. While you’re at it, you could give them a little mulch of gravel or horticultural grit to really smarten things up (and discourage weeds).
Prune wisteria
If you’re lucky enough to have a wisteria, you’ll know they’re worth every bit of that slightly demanding pruning regime. Once the purple fountains open and cascade in late spring, all is forgiven. Wisterias need one prune in midsummer (back to 5-7 pairs of leaves) and another in midwinter (each stem back to two buds). They’re pretty rampant climbers, so it makes sense to do this, otherwise you end up with an ugly tangle of whippy shoots all over the place and far fewer of those gorgeous flowers. It’s not hard, but you’ll need a sturdy ladder and a sharp pair of secateurs.
Cut back hellebore foliage
Another easy task to get you outdoors for 15 minutes of winter sun. The leaves of evergreen hellebores can be big and floppy, often shrouding the delicate winter flowers, so take a hellebore tour round the garden and, if you can see new shoots appearing from the base, snip off the old leaves to the ground to make for easier flower viewing later on.
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