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Edition Twenty One - December 2007
What a glorious autumn we have had in the UK, with mild, sunny weather and colourful landscapes, the likes of which we don't often see..
If you're a 'fine weather' gardener like me, you will be glad of a rest from the outdoors for a couple of months, but for hardier garden enthusiasts there are always plenty of winter jobs. Growing herbs and salads on windowsills or in conservatories is also a great way of keeping gardening alive all year round.
Is your garden getting too much for you to cope with?
Winter gardening jobs
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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.
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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 as protection against strong winds.
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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.
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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 for any water to drain out 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. Or after just six months they will be rotted enough to use as a mulch for your plants..
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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.
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Cheer your home up with some potted hyacinths, paper white narcissi and of course the beautiful seasonal poinsettas, Cyclamen and Azalea plants.
Don`t forget to keep the bird food topped up over the winter months as they do come to rely on us humans for their food and water. And if your pond freezes over make sure you keep a hole in the ice so the fish can get oxygen.
Happy gardening and Happy Christmas...
Index to previous editions of Age-Net gardening
column here
Tickets for RHS members
Privilege rate tickets are available for RHS members to all RHS shows,
but tickets must be booked in advance. Click on the individual show links
below for further information.
RHS members are not charged a booking fee for tickets purchased except
for advanced tickets to the Malvern shows. To
find out how to become an RHS member click here
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Some web sites of interest to gardeners:
The living theatre of plants
and people
The Eden Project is a gateway into the world of plants and people.
A meeting place for all to discover how we depend on plants and how we
can help to manage and conserve them for our mutual survival.
Gardening
is an important part of many people's lives. You don't have to give up
gardening because of accident or illness, the onset of disability or the
problems associated with growing older. The information on their website
is designed to provide you with the information to Carry on Gardening.
Carry on Gardening was initiated by the horticultural charity Thrive
and is funded by the National
Lottery Charities Board. It brings together information
on easy ways of gardening gathered over 23 years by Thrive and research
carried out since the early 1970s by Mary Marlborough Centre, Oxford,
on tools and equipment for disabled and older people.
www.alantitchmarsh.com Alan Titchmarsh MBE, TV gardener, writer, broadcaster and
thoroughly nice person. Just a few choice words to describe the peoples`
favourite TV gardener. See his website....
Thompson
and Morgan
A growing resource for gardeners worldwide. The site includes
the international online seed catalogues, the young plants catalogue (UK
only), the wholesale seeds catalogue, together with the award winning
Germination Times and a host of other useful information.
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And some reading material:-
"The Yellow Book 2006" contains information of all Gardens of England
and Wales open for charity, from National Gardens Scheme and is available
from all good bookstores throughout the UK priced £7.99. http://www.ngs.org.uk/yellow_book.htm
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