The days between Christmas and the new year have a lovely, slow rhythm, and I find slipping outside for a little fresh air to be the perfect antidote to hours on the sofa and all those leftovers. The garden feels peaceful at this time of year and even a short potter helps to clear the head after the bustle of the previous few days.
It’s at this time that I often escape to the greenhouse for a little peace and quiet. Even small jobs, from popping any remaining bulbs in the ground to sowing some sweet peas, can offer hope for the year to come. So wrap up, take a warm drink with you and enjoy a quiet half-hour outside — it’s a wonderful way to reset before the new year begins.
1. It’s not too late to plant spring bulbs
If you haven’t got round to planting your bulbs yet, or just have a few left over, you can still plant them now as long as the soil isn’t frozen or waterlogged. I rarely bother planting bulbs until December anyway, as tulips do best if you put them in the ground when it’s colder to avoid the risk of tulip fire (a fungal disease that causes leaves and flowers to look scorched). There’s still time to plant alliums, camassias, snake’s head fritillaries and winter wildflower too.
You could even risk planting early bloomers such as crocuses, early bulbous irises and snowdrops, but there’s a chance they might not come up — they perform best when planted in early autumn so that they have time to root before flowering. However, I always say it’s worth planting them anyway as they may just flower late, or at the very least they’ll make a comeback the following year.
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If you have sandy or very pliable soil, you can save yourself a lot of time by attaching an auger (a spiral shaped bit) to a drill and using that to make your holes extra speedily. This works best with more powerful drills — and it won’t work in heavy clay or flinty soils.
Plant bulbs at a depth roughly three times their own height and, for most of them, in a sunny position with free-draining soil. Shade-lovers include snowdrops (Galanthus), winter aconites (Eranthis), scilla, English bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta), winter wildflowers (Anemone blanda) and early crocus (Crosus tommasinianus). If your soil is heavy, add grit first to improve drainage, or plant your bulbs in containers.
2. Plant trees, shrubs and bare-root roses
The Mill House, Little Sampford, Essex
GAP PHOTOS/HOWARD RICE
This is one of the very best months for planting woody plants. Trees, shrubs and bare-root roses can be planted any time between late autumn and early spring as long as the soil is not frozen or waterlogged, and that usually makes December a good time to plant unless you are somewhere very cold or wet. Bare-root plants, which are available from October to April, are also a really economical option.
When planting, soak the roots in a bucket of water for an hour beforehand to help rehydrate them, then tease them out in the planting hole so they can spread naturally. Backfill with the same soil you removed (rather than rich compost) for woody plants, and for roses add well-rotted manure or other organic matter. Firm in gently and water well. Mulch after planting to conserve moisture and regulate soil temperature, keeping the mulch clear of the stems.
3. Create a winter pot display
Skimmia japonica, Cyclamen hederifolium, Erica ‘George Rendall’ and ornamental cabbage
GAP PHOTOS/NICOLA STOCKEN
A pot or two near the back door, or on a balcony or even a windowbox, can transform a grey month. Winter containers need structure, texture and a few reliable evergreens rather than flowers, although you can still weave in some colour. Good options include hellebores, ivy, skimmia, carex, heuchera, cyclamen and evergreen ferns. Choose peat-free compost with plenty of drainage grit and raise pots on feet so excess water can escape. Water throughout winter whenever the compost is dry, as plants in containers dry out far faster than those in the ground.
A good tip for winter pot displays is to be generous and fill the whole pot with plants. Growth is slow, so they aren’t going to put on masses of growth to fill the gaps. Go for abundance.
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4. Sow some sweet peas
Lathyrus odoratus ‘Old Spice Mix’, a heritage grandiflora sweet pea
ALAMY
There is something ceremonial about sowing sweet peas in the quiet lull after Christmas. I like to do it on Boxing Day. A winter sowing gives them a long run up to spring, which encourages strong root systems and brings flowers earlier than spring-sown ones.
Use deep pots, root trainers or cardboard loo roll tubes, as sweet peas like the space for their roots. Fill with moist but not compacted peat-free compost. Make a narrow hole using a pencil, stick, dibber or anything else narrow and pointy that you have to hand, and sow the seed two or three centimetres deep — one per pot if possible, but you can do two if you thin out the weaker of the two later. Water lightly and label. Some people like to presoak their seeds, but I haven’t ever witnessed a difference in germination rates.
Keep them somewhere cool, bright and frost free. A cold greenhouse or porch is ideal. At a push an indoor windowsill can work, but the warmth tends to produce long, stretched seedlings — colder is better. When your seedlings reach about 10cm and have two or three sets of leaves, pinch out the growing tip above the lowest pair. This encourages branching and gives you sturdier, more productive plants. Water sparingly when the soil is almost dry; overwatering in winter is a surefire way to promote rot.
5. Prune apple and pear trees
With apples and pears dormant, December is a good moment to do some pruning. Work on trained forms and free-standing bush or cordon trees now, but avoid pruning stone fruits such as apricots and plums because they are prone to silver leaf and other fungal issues when cut in winter. Those are best tackled in late spring or summer.
Begin by removing dead, diseased or damaged wood. Then cut out any crossing stems and any branches that grow into the centre of the tree. The goal is an open structure that lets in as much light and air as possible. Good airflow helps to reduce disease and improves fruit ripening. Aim to remove about 10 to 20 per cent of the canopy; more than that risks prompting a surge of vigorous growth at the expense of fruiting and can leave the tree weakened. Make sure you have sharp and clean secateurs/a saw and be sure to make clean cuts and prune back to outward-facing buds. Stand back frequently to review the shape and make sure you aren’t getting carried away.
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6. Turn and tidy the compost heap
Now is a good moment to give your compost heap a bit of attention. Turn the heap with a fork to bring in some fresh air, which helps what little decomposition is happening in the cold months. If it is looking heavy or slimy, add some shredded cardboard or dry leaves to rebalance the mix. Cover the top with something breathable, such as hessian or an old carpet, to stop winter rain from drenching it. A small tidy now will keep things ticking over so that it’s ready to use in early spring.
7. Harvest leaf mould
Gather the last of the fallen leaves from lawns and paths and pop them into breathable bags or make a basic cage of chicken wire. Avoid evergreen leaves, which take an age to rot. After a year or two, you will have the most beautiful, crumbly soil improver that boosts structure and moisture retention anywhere you use it. Trust me, it’s worth the wait. If you’ve already started a leaf mould heap earlier in autumn, give it a quick turn now to introduce air and keep the breakdown process moving.
How to Design a Garden by Pollyanna Wilkinson (Dorling Kindersley £22). To order a copy go to timesbookshop.co.uk. Free UK standard P&P on orders over £25. Special discount available for Times+ members
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