Whatever the weather
Welcome to the new gardening year. Even though it’s only January there are plenty of things to be getting on with in the garden this month.
Depending on where you are in the country and what the weather has been throwing at you, it’s a good time to dig over vacant beds and borders if the ground’s not too firm. It will warm you up and reward you with a good planting medium and you can give some thought to your vegetable crop rotations ahead.
You can still prune apple and pear trees, plant bare root roses, shrubs, hedging and trees as well as new fruit bushes. You may find some colour at the garden centre with dogwoods, witch hazels and flowering cherries.
It’s a good time to get the garden tractor, mower and power tools serviced if you haven’t already done so.
- Check stakes, ties and fences for windblown damage and disturbance
- Use a chipper shredder to recycle the Christmas tree
- Tidy up around roses and remove dead leaves
- Repair lawn edges
- Take hardwood cuttings of deciduous trees and shrubs.
- Sow hardy bulbs in succession
- Under glass sow asparagus, freesias, fuschias and sweet peas
- Start cuttings of chrysanthemums, fuschias, heliotropes and verbenas under gentle heat
- Indoors start/sow annuals and bedding plants in modules
- Pot lily bulbs, force rhubarb, turn compost, put food out for the birds