THEGAYUK WINTER 13 /14 Issue 1
HOME&GARDEN
IN THE WINTER GARDEN
By Graham Davies
Graham gives us a little
advice on the few jobs still
left to do in the garden.
Feeding wildlife, collecting
colourful branches and what
to do with your mass of
leaves.
the beds in spring and the water
left will make a great plant feed.
‘Once the dormant season is well
and truly upon us, this is the time
to take stock of the year’s
successes and failures, and to get
on with planning for next year.’ Alan Titchmarsh
!
!
!
It’s -4 outside, the ground is
frozen over and most thoughts
are on the upcoming festive
frolics and how to survive them.
However if you do manage to get
a spare moment in the few
daylight hours available, then
you’ll find there are still a
collection of little tasks for your
‘dormant’ garden which should
bring you some winter pleasure.
!
Leaf Clearing - Yep it always
happens, you clear your lawn of
those falling leaves only to find
the next day there are twice as
many as before... However don't
give up, the more you collect
them, the more you can recycle
them into compost or leaf mould.
If you only have a couple of
minutes then at least rake them
off the lawn and onto the beds.
You can dig them straight into
the beds where they’ll rot down,
or collect them into old bins in
the back of the garden with a
little water. The leaves will rot
down making good compost for
!
Winter bedding - Keep an eye
on all winter bedding plants, such
as the 'Cyclamen' and 'Pansies'.
Be sure to deadhead often and
add a little feed to keep them
blooming all through winter.
Wildlife - There are many
creatures in the garden that will
appreciate a winter treat. Bird
feeders are great for attracting
the colourful non migrating birds
into the garden. A pile of leaves
in a dry corner may make a great
bed for hedgehogs looking for
shelter from the cold elements.
Just be careful when removing in
the Spring that your new friend
has woken properly and moved
on. You can even create homes
for the smaller bugs by rolling up
corrugated cardboard and place
into an old plastic pop bottle with
one end cut off. Place these into
the beds. You can add a small
amount of sugar solution as well
to the cardboard for feeding, but
don’t soak the cardboard.
!
Foraging - With most of the
garden flowers died back now,
most folk look to bringing
evergreen branches full of
colourful berries into their
homes. Holly, Ivy and Cornus
(Dogwood) stems v