Released On 5th Dec 2024

Your December Garden Jobs Checklist

As December rolls around, it's easy to think that your garden can be left to rest. But in reality, this month offers a perfect opportunity to prepare for the colder months ahead and ensure everything is ready for a thriving spring. From cleaning up plastic pots and sharpening tools to planting seeds and clearing slippery algae from pathways, December gardening jobs are all about maintenance and preparation. In this blog, we'll guide you through the essential tasks to keep your garden in top shape, while also offering tips to help local wildlife and protect your plants from the winter chill. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just starting out, this checklist will make sure you're ready for the festive season and beyond!

Clean Plastic Pots & Labels

Single use plastic has a lot to answer for on our planet, and as gardeners we want to reduce our use of it as much as possible. One of the best ways to do this is wash, dry and store your plastic pots and labels somewhere dry so that when Spring comes, you can use them again. The better you care for them, the longer they will last and the less plastic you’ll have to do. If you have writing on the labels, you can take this off with some wire wool, making them easy to reuse! We’ve tried this on pencil, biro and even permanent marker, and they all come off easily.

Clear Algae from Paths

Brick and stone paths are the biggest slip hazard in your garden at this time of year, especially with all the ice we’ve already had. This is mainly because algae grows on the surface, especially in wetter, shaded areas. So grab your pressure washer to get rid of all of that slippery fuzz, and then brush in sharp sand. You can clean them with a stiff brush if you want, but it’s much more labour intensive! Any porous brick will absorb some of the sand, and your paths will be a lot safer.

Plant Onion Seeds

If you’re a veg-grower, now is the time to plant your onion seeds. Most onions are grown from sets, which you would typically put out from January to April, but we’ll let you in on a secret. Onions grown from seed have the advantage of starting earlier and having a longer growing season, which means a greater variety available and much tastier crops at the end! Plant your onion seeds in plugs of potting compost – 3-4 seeds per plug, and leave them somewhere warm to germinate. Once the soil has warmed up in the spring you can put them out as seedlings.

Sharpen Your Tools

A good gardener needs good tools in good condition, which means any blades need treating and sharpening at least once a year. Any tool you use to cut will need to be cleaned, have any rust removed with some wire wool, and sharpened like you would a knife. This means they will cut sharply and accurately, and you won’t damage your plants by tearing at them.

Clear the Pond

One of the best ways to encourage wildlife into your garden is to have a pond – no matter how small. But that does mean you need to take care of it and clean it out from time to time, since the natural cleaning cycles aren’t present. Remove any fallen leaves before they sink to the bottom and decompose, as this will affect the nutritional balance of the water and cause you all sorts of problems next Spring. Just be careful you’re only removing leaves and dead plants – not any of the life inside the pond.

Prepare for Poinsettias

Poinsettias are the traditional Christmas flower, and hundreds of thousands of them will be given as gifts this year. They’re a beautiful plant, and with a little preparation and care they can look fantastic for months. Modern poinsettias are grown to be houseplants and treated with a growth retardant, but in their native Mexico, these beautiful plants grow at the edges of the forests and reach up to 10ft high!

They’re a fickle plant, only really comfortable in the warm and damp. They don’t like cool nights, very hot or very fry rooms, or anywhere that has big fluctuations in temperature. So you’ll need to find somewhere that has a consistent average temperature with no draughts, cold windows or bright spots. They like their soil to dry out completely and then be soaked, this is one that you should stand the pot in a sink full of water for 10 minutes or so to water it.

Don’t Over Tidy!

Your garden might look barren over the winter, but it’s still thrumming with life! There’s a huge amount of wildlife that are their most active over the winter and make their homes in your garden. Beetles, moths, ladybirds, grass snakes, hedgehogs, moles and birds are all looking for food and homes, and your garden is a good source of both! The best way to encourage them in and help them out is to make sure your garden isn’t too tidy. Leave a wheelbarrow full of leaves against a fence or in a quiet corner. Stack wood and bundles of pruning’s in a corner so that small birds, voles, hedgehogs and insects can use them for cover. Leave a few weeds or dried stems, or even leave some of your grass uncut – this makes a great environment for insects. They’re small steps, but they make all the difference.

Does that all sound like too much to manage? We’re here to help! The team at CMA Garden Design we’re still out there on the tools, doing all of the little winter jobs that keep our customers gardens looking good all through the year. If you need a hand with the garden this year, just give us a call and we would be happy to help.