Gardening

Edition nine - December 2006  

The short days of November are behind us already and thankfully there were no harsh frosts, which enabled many plants to continue flowering until the end of the month. A host of other winter flowering shrubs are now coming into their own, making gardens look every bit as colourful as they did in the summer..

If you can`t do your own regular garden machinery maintenance, get someone else to do it for you - do not neglect it.. Housebound and elderly gardeners should look in the gardening column of their local paper for an appropriate advertisement, or ask their local DIY shop to recommend somewhere or someone who can service and maintain their electrical garden equipment.

Don`t forget to keep the bird food topped up over the winter months because they do come to rely on us humans. And if your pond freezes over make sure you keep a hole in the ice so the fish can get oxygen.

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An automatic watering system takes the work out of watering - it waters your plants properly all through the season, and keeps the amount of water you use in the garden tightly under control. It consists of a network of pipes that carry water around the garden, and tiny water outlets that deliver the water directly to your plants. Used in conjunction with an electronic timer, which attaches directly to your outside tap, the system will run itself, watering as often and for as long as you choose.

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There is still time during December to plant any tulip bulbs that you haven`t got in the ground yet. Dig them in deeply enough and they can stay in the ground year after year, rather than take them out as the experts recommend.

• If you are planning on planting any bare-root trees, late Autumn or early winter is the best time, while the soil is still fairly warm. Don`t forget to stake them for protection against strong winds.
• Forget about going to the gym, get some exercise by raking all the leaves off your lawn. Leave the ones that have dropped in the borders as they will rot down naturally and help the soil nutrition.
• If you don`t have a compost heap, put the damp leaves in bin liners tied at the top. Make several holes in the bags and leave them in a shed or garage. By next year they will have rotted down to beautiful leaf mould to put on your borders.
• It is all to easy to hibernate in the winter months, but a brisk gardening session, when you are well wrapped up against the elements, will do you the power of good.  Try it... 
• If we have bad weather, keep your paths and access routes free of snow and ice. Get rock salt from your DIY store to put on the paths to melt the ice.
• Cheer your home up with some potted hyacinths, paper white narcissi and of course the beautiful seasonal poinsettas.

• Don`t forget to ask Santa for some new gardening hand tools, or a gardening book, or a new plant, or.......................

Christmas is nearly here, with shops and garden centres packed with items such as prepared hyacinths, Amaryllis and arrangements of gorgeous house plants, which make great presents for friends and family...

Last minute stocking fillers suitable for your gardening friends and family

• A years subscription to a gardening magazine 
• A gardening book from Amazon 
• Secateurs or other garden hand tools 
• Gardening gloves
• Gift voucher for a garden centre
• Terracotta pots
• Decorative house name or number: www.englandsigns.co.uk 
• Japanese wind chimes
• Garden ornaments
• Bulbs ready planted in decorative containers, from the supermarket.
• Gardening Calendar or diary
• An azalea or cyclamen from the supermarket
• House plant watering can
• Decorative plant labels
• A packet of their favourite seeds
• Bird feeder
• Bag of Spring flowering bulbs
• Heated propagator
• Garden thermometer
• Bonsai tree kit