The stretch between Christmas and spring can feel gloomy. The weather is often dull and miserable, and the wait for fresh shoots and warmer air can seem completely out of reach.
However, while you dream of pulling your rattan garden furniture out of storage and basking in the spring sunshine, there are some gardening jobs you can do now to prepare for the more fruitful months ahead.
Prune
The winter months are the time to prune and cut back certain plants. Deciduous shrubs that flower in spring and summer and lose their leaves in winter and will need pruned back to encourage flowering and healthy shoots. Cut out dead or damaged shoots to ground level and remove any weak or dwindling shoots so that the plant focuses energy into the healthy ones.
Evergreen hedges would benefit from a prune at this time too, and you could cut back any dead grass from ornamental grasses.
Sow
Many vegetables can be sown in winter. Veggies like carrots and parsnips can be sown outdoors in their final positions, while others need to be potted first, kept indoors and then moved out later on.
As many vegetables can be sown throughout the year – other than December and January – you could sow small batches at regular intervals so that you have a constant supply.
While it might seem a while until you will be sipping something cold in the garden with colour all around, a little effort now will maximise the reward later.
