As the new year begins, our gardens present an inviting canvas for renewal and growth. January is a pivotal month for gardeners, serving as the cornerstone for a flourishing spring.
So in this comprehensive guide, we’ll dive into specific January gardening jobs curated for UK residents. These tasks are meticulously designed to ensure your garden’s survival in the cold weather and it’s thriving in the coming months.
The process begins with meticulously removing fallen leaves, spent annuals, and any lingering garden debris. This purging is aesthetic and minimises potential hiding spots for pests and diseases.
Dedicate time to declutter and organise the garden shed – the heart of your gardening operations. Take stock of supplies, creating an efficient hub for your gardening equipment. Clean, sharpen, and oil the gardening tools, ensuring they are ready for efficient use in the tasks that lie ahead. This simple act of maintenance extends their lifespan and makes your gardening experience smoother.
If you have a greenhouse, now is a good time to tidy it up a bit, as well.
A garden’s backbone extends beyond plants to the supporting structures that frame its beauty. January is the perfect time to inspect and secure these structures. Check fences, trellises, and other supports for any damage, making repairs to ensure they are ready for the growing season.
Take refuge indoors and examine seed catalogues as part of the January garden jobs. These vibrant pages hold the key to the upcoming spring. Plan your garden layout and select varieties that align with the unique climate of the UK.
The health of your garden starts from the ground up. Test the pH of your soil using a readily available kit. Knowing your soil’s pH will help you adjust it
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Bay (Laurus nobilis), also known as bay laurel or the bay tree, is an evergreen shrub with aromatic leaves, known as bay leaves. Laurus nobilis one of the oldest shrubs in cultivation, introduced to British gardens in from as early as 1650. It’s an essential foliage plant for herb gardens – bay leaves can be used in a variety of dishes, including soups and stews and even ice cream, and are the main ingredient in a ‘bouquet garni’. They can be dried for storing or used fresh.
The bird species that visit your garden will vary depending on your location, the size of your plot, what type of plants you grow and what supplementary bird food you offer. In some areas of the UK, birds such as tree sparrows and nuthatches might be relatively common in gardens, whereas in other places they are unlikely to be seen. The birds on the list below can be seen in gardens, but none is included in the top 20 species in the last two years of the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch.
Peat is an acidic growing medium, which thanks to its excellent water and nutrient retention is traditionally used in garden composts. With a low pH it’s ideal for growing acid-loving plants such as blueberries, heather and Camellia sinensis, and peat-based composts have been widely used in horticulture – most garden composts contain some peat, and most garden centres still sell plants growing in pots of peat-based compost. However, due to its environmentally damaging effects, from late this year, the sale of peat-based composts in gardens and DIY stores will be banned in the UK. Issues with peat-free composts, such as expense, availability and performance have hindered its take up in the past but thankfully, compost manufacturers have responded to these concerns with research and investment and a broad range of high quality, peat-free composts are now widely available, with some even costing less than their peat-based counterparts.
Beans include many types of snap beans, pole beans, and Southern peas, such as black-eyed types. Plant these in spring after all danger of frost has passed. Because they grow so fast, start beans from seed directly in the garden. To speed their sprouting, soak seeds in water overnight before planting.
February marks the transition from winter to spring. Although the chill may persist, promising signs of the upcoming new season are scattered throughout. Bulbs cautiously break through the soil, and daylight gradually begins to appear.
I prefer to top-dress my flower beds while my perennials are napping safely underground, but I often find myself doing this while the plants are up. That chore is made much easier with a 58-ounce cast-aluminum scoop. It’s small enough to maneuver among plants but holds enough compost, mulch, or—as shown here—composted wood chips to cover real estate quickly. Lastly, it leaves a hand free to hold plants aside while I’m applying the product.
Cotoneasters are not a well-known group of plants, and these excellent berrying shrubs are often unfairly labelled dull. The culprit responsible for this reputation is Cotoneaster horizontalis (wall spray), which sprawls across front gardens and car parks up and down the country, and is, admittedly, rather dull. But, beyond the ubiquitous blandness of C. horizontalis, there are many wonderful cotoneasters that deserve to be more widely grown.
Often, these are timeless items that have truly stood the test of time, but there’s also room for innovations that have transformed the way we garden – battery-powered tools that have done away with electric cables and noisy, smelly two-stroke fuel, for example. We asked the country’s top head gardeners which tools they couldn’t contemplate gardening without.
In the ever-evolving tapestry of horticulture, 2024 brings forth a new chapter as gardens undergo a transformative journey guided by the latest trends. From the integration of nature into outdoor spaces to the tech-savvy approaches that are revolutionizing horticulture, this year's garden landscape is a canvas of innovation and sustainability. Join us as we delve into the heart of these trends and explore how they are changing the way we imagine, cultivate and experience our gardens. Step into a world where sustainability meets aesthetic expression, where technology blends with the natural, and where each garden becomes a unique testament to the creativity and conscientiousness of its caretaker. Welcome to the garden trends of 2024 – a celebration of greenery, diversity and the limitless possibilities that bloom in the outdoors.
For gardeners across the globe, English gardens are renowned. Their reputation for being the most romantic, beautifully planted and idyllic spaces a gardener could hope for has spread far and wide. But how do you define a quintessentially English garden? Say the words and the mind immediately conjures up certain images: arbours and pergolas dripping with rambling roses; herbaceous borders with sky-blue spires of delphiniums, York-stone paving and clipped yew hedges. There are some features that no self-respecting English garden should be without, the essential elements that make the country’s gardens so iconic – here are our must-haves for that dreamy English garden look.