Thyme To Garden - December 2017

[AB Editor]

Hello all! Here is a new sticky gardening thread for December.

What has everyone been up to in the great outdoors now that the cold weather has officially set in?

The November thread is here: https://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Home-and-Garden/Question1578891.html

[anthro-nerd]

The most I've done is pick up dog p**p... until Spring I'm afraid the rest of the gardening duties will be ignored!

[woofgang]

I have got some roots of plants and some bulbs to put in I am afraid....I order them earlier in the year and its always a shock when they arrive!

[melv16]

Got to weed and mulsh round the fruit and asparagus beds Ont allotment. Otherwise, there's nowt to do:-)

[mazie]

Put the fruit trees and raspberry canes In a few weeks ago. All seems well there. The reclaimed woodland area now resembles a allotment patch. Its all dug over and ready for planting out in the Spring. I put some early broad beans in pots last week and they are now I. The greenhouse, so fingers crossed.

[mazie]

Not sure if there's anything else I should be doing?

[woofgang]

drooling over catalogues mazie! Plants are now planted in a huge tub, japanese anemones and agapanthus, overplanted with small bulbs, double snowdrops and hardy miniature cyclamen. Not strictly gardening but an outdoor activity, tortoises have gone down for the winter now its cold enough. This means I will be on an all nighter tonight monitoring temperatures and heaters so I am sure they won't freeze.

[Chipchopper]

A few sharp, early frosts has finally told the grass 'Hey its winter now, slow down' so the mower gets to rest for a while,hopefully.
I now have some space to convert some of the firewood into smaller kindling, to get them evening fires quicker in the wood burning stove.

So other garden activities include, fishing the bulk of fallen leaves from the pond, adding some mulch around any tender plants and keeping the bird feeders well topped up, to keep my feathered friends happy and provide some entertainment while I'm going about my chores, the coal tit is among my current favorites.
When my toes become numb, reminds me its time to retreat inside for a mug of cheering hot coffee.

[woofgang]

yes, that's the other thing I did....it must have frozen my brain doing it....I cleared out the pond filter and fished most of the leaves out of the pond. Tortoise monitoring going well temps stable so far.

[Prudie]

I still have a few daffs to plant :-( My dahlias have finally frosted down to a mess and the perennials are dried up and brown - I haven't been out to cut any of them back yet. All a bit naughty of me.

[woofgang]

Prudie, I leave as much of mine as I can uncut because its better for the wildlife over winter. Dead leaves are swept from my patio for safety but left to lie everywhere else. Any shrub, especially rose, pruning happens in spring. The only exception is if I have had a fungal or bacterial infection in a plant and then all the infected matter is removed and disposed of in the rubbish.

[Prudie]

That's made me feel much better woof as I can't see (apart from the bulbs) that I'll do any of it until well after Christmas now.

[woofgang]

Its a lovely way to garden.....laziness that is actually good for your garden and the environment.