Normally at this time of year we all want to stay indoors, curled in front of the fire with a good book or the X Factor (depending on your preference!).
However, we’re all hard at work between snow and rain showers getting the gardens into shape for the year ahead, so here are a few useful jobs to do if you quite fancy getting some fresh air (and if you don’t you can always give us a call!).
Winter is a great time to get your fences and trellis sorted out if they’re a bit tired. Most of the vegetation can be trimmed back without causing too much havoc in order to effect repairs or replacement. Then, once Spring kicks in and regrowth occurs, it can easily trained on to the new/repaired fences.
Prune all of the winter flowering shrubs and wisteria to give them some shape and you can renovate overgrown hedging as it will be dormant. Add a deep layer of organic matter to the flower beds as this will protect delicate bulbs and provide some welcome slow release nutrients to the soil. You can also top up your pots with soils such as John Innes.
Slugs and snails start appearing at this time of year so apply coarse grit around hostas and any fleshy perennials or you may find that they become the first meal of the year!! This is also the last chance to prune your fruit trees.
Good luck out there, if you get lost or need some professional help, we’re just at the end of the phone!
