Head Gardeners’ tips
December 2024

Despite what some think, there are a lot of lovely garden tasks to do throughout the winter, and many that can only be done then. By now you’ve hopefully brought in your tender plants, protected those left outdoors with fleece or a cloche, covered tasty bulbs with decorative pebble, chicken wire or spiky prunings, lifted your dahlias, and planted your bulbs. If you’ve succumbed to the temptations of a late bulb sale, as we all do, get them under the soil as soon as possible and they’ll perform just fine! It’s been a deceptively mild autumn here in Glasgow, so we’re planting some tulips this month in the hopes of preventing tulip fire, a fungal infection that thrives in mild damp situations.

Plants in pots are not as hardy as in the ground, as containers heat up and cool down faster and these temperature changes can harm plant roots. If you have plants in containers that are borderline hardy in your area they may need additional protection in winter to survive. Protect plants from freezing temperatures by wrapping the containers in hessian or reused bubble wrap, grouping pots together and moving close to your house, or burying or placing directly on the soil for geothermal heat transfer. Container plants are also prone to waterlogging in winter, so make sure there is adequate drainage, by lifting up on pot feet or protecting from excess rain.

December may still be too mild for some jobs like pruning Acers, which needs to be done when the tree is fully dormant, so no sap bleeds out. Wait for all leaves to drop and a proper period of cold to ensure growth has stopped for any winter pruning jobs. If it’s not quite cold enough, you can bide your time by cleaning and sharpening your tools, ensuring you won’t adversely affect your precious trees and shrubs once you can get stuck in.

Less particular plants to prune in early winter include Wisteria – aiming to prune all sideshoots back to three or four buds; autumn fruiting raspberry canes which can all be pruned down to 5cm of the ground; currants, gooseberries and blueberries should have some old wood removed each year, creating an open goblet shape, with lots of healthy young branches to crop in the new year. Acers, vines, and fruit trees may all be better to leave until mid or late winter and will have you happily outdoors in the new year feeling fresh and productive.

Now that the perennials have died down the structure of the garden is revealed, while the successes and failures of the past seasons are still fresh in your mind. Walking your site with a notebook, you can make plans for the coming year, noting areas that need nurturing, plants that need dividing, and gaps that need filling (perhaps with the newly divided). Think about your best sightlines through the garden, symmetry, colour and rhythmic planting, and maybe make yourself a spring shopping list and a monthly tasks to tackle reminder. Looking over photos taken throughout the year can also help you plan and edit your garden to best effect. I love this sort of mental gardening, over a steaming cup of tea, if I’m stuck indoors on an especially cold day!

When you’re putting out festive lights you can also be taking in the birdhouses for a clean before the new year. Birds start to look for potential nest sites long before they settle down, so making sure your boxes and houses are safe and sterile is key. Fat ball feeders are a great gift for your feathered friends now, but be well informed (the RSPB is helpful) if making your own as certain oils can be fatal for birds to get on their wings. A healthy garden includes bird allies who help to keep damaging insect populations under control.

A lovely way to be calm and mindful this month is to forage and craft an evergreen decoration, like a wreath, nature bowl or garland. This can be as simple or ornate as you like, gathering and combining natural elements that you find joyful. It is a peaceful antithesis to the modern busyness and consumerism of Christmas and connects us to an ancestral hopefulness for growth in the coming year. Evergreens have long been a symbol that the earth will grow and flourish again in the spring. As you wander and work, remember that to bloom well, all things deserve a period of dormancy. The concept of ‘wintering’ is a healthy acknowledgement that it can be valuable to withdraw, reflect, repair and renew oneself, and that you may blossom better for it.