This month we welcome Christmas with a kiss under the mistletoe (home-grown of course!), a warming glass of mulled wine and an array of gardening goodies for green fingers to open on the big day itself!

But don’t put your feet up just yet - crisp, cold days are still a great time to enjoy your garden.

You should now concentrate on cutting down or digging up old plants to make space for new additions.  You may well have lost some of your favourites in the extreme weather conditions last year so take stock and plan areas for replacements.  Give new tender plants the best possible start by protecting their roots with a layer of mulch.

Don’t forget to add your garden waste such as the cuts of pruned herbaceous plants, to the compost heap to help create the high quality mulch bursting with nutrients ready for next year’s gardening.

If your patio is looking a little drab, add a planted container or filled tub to add colourful interest.  Filled with winter flowering plants such as Pansies, Heathers, Skimmia Rubella and Helleborus Niger and completed with foliage plants including Hedera and Sarcococca. Keep your containers on pot feet to retain good drainage – and don’t forget containers make an ideal gift at Christmas.

Leaves will still be falling so continue to collect them so that you don’t smother your low growing plants.  Once the leaves have finished, the month provides a great opportunity to begin your winter pruning of fruit trees.  Spur prune your apples and pears and bush fruit too.

Your lawn may need to be cut again if the weather stays particularly mild.  It would be a good idea to have your lawnmower serviced after this final trim so it is in peak condition ready for the spring.

Christmas would not be Christmas without Cyclamen and Poinsettia to add that all-important festive touch to your home.  Make sure they do not dry out and keep their roots moist at all times.  These plants need plenty of light but avoid droughts and heat sources such as radiators.  Other than that, they should be easy to care for and are always a welcome gift too!

At this time of year, the birds need you.  They need a steady supply of fresh water so please make sure your bird bath does not freeze over.  And keep any bird feeders fully stocked with seeds and nuts. Plants with berries are also a great way to provide birds with a tasty morsel and your Berberis, Holly and Viburnum will not only produce berries, they also provide a fantastic hedged nesting place for birds.

If your tulip bulbs are already in the ground, keep an eye on their location and water with a slug killer which will seep through the layers of soil and kill any molluscs below.

Winter root cropped vegetables should be delicious when harvested now, particularly your home grown parsnips and Brussels sprouts – the perfect accompaniment to your Christmas dinner.

The weather will become colder soon so ensure you have stocked up with plenty of fleece to protect your plants on frosty nights.  Keep branches of young trees clear of snowfalls to avoid weight damage and tie shrubs and climbers back to protect from strong winds.

And finally, Merry Christmas from all at Grosvenor!

Tags: christmas, Grosvenor Gardening Tips

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 11:28 am and is filed under Grosvenor Gardening Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.