DECEMBER White, cold sunlight tempts us to explore the garden, and the Witch hazel's spidery, spun-gold heavily scented blooms, tempt me every time, as well as the mahonia Charity's lemon-yellow tapers, I just love there citrus scent. While the days are shorter, December can still be an active gardening month - both inside and out! Perhaps we can think about planning for next year. Catalogues have begun to arrive, and will continue to do so for a while now. These always can provide stimulus for ideas, particularly those which have colour photographs. It is also high time one began thinking about Christmas presents for any gardening family or friends... maybe they would like a subscription to a gardening magazine, maybe they would be interested in books on their favourite gardening subject, maybe you will find one for yourself. If you have been keeping up with your gardening tasks for the last few months, you should be able to take it pretty easy this month, there are a few things to keep an eye on, and a few optional things you can do in the garden. *An Angel Legend* An angel, legend has it, took pity on a little shepherd girl... who had nothing to give to the Infant Jesus in his manger. The angel handed her a weed, but first transformed it into this beautiful flower of winter. ...the Christmas rose, Helleborus niger. ~Allen Lacy, The Gardener's Eye, 1991~ BULBS, SHRUBS and TREES This is a good time to take time out to mark your plants in some way (if you have not done so before), especially bulbs and perennials. Marking plants in the garden before they become snow covered helps for early spring spotting and identifying in the spring, and for the rest of the year, very useful when family or friends ask you what a certain plant is. If you still haven't planted your bulbs, plant them in pots and put them in a shady, protected place. If you have started some bulbs, such as hyacinths, daffodils or tulips, for winter flowering, it would be advisable to keep an eye on them, and make sure they remain moist. Those started early in the autumn may even be ready to bring into a light spot in the garden. For winter colour, plant winter pansies in pots, and in your borders, and over your bulbs. Make 12in hardwood cuttings of roses, setting them two-thirds underground in a trench in a shady place. Continue checking on any stored corms or tubers you have in storage to make sure they are still all right. Remove and discard any which show signs of disease or rot. Cut off loose or forward-pointing growth on any self-clinging climbers which seem reluctant to cling. Winter rains tend to make you forget about watering your garden. However, plants and shrubs which are growing beneath large evergreens or under the eaves of the house, may be bone dry by this time. Lack of water in the cold winter months can be fatal to many of these plants. Sow ripened seeds of hawthorns, cotoneaster, mountain ash and pyracantha. Squash the berries to extract the seeds, which should be cleaned of pulp before sowing. Sow in small pots filled with gritty compost and cover with a layer of grit. Water gently and stand pots outdoors, or in a well-ventilated cold frame. Continue planting new deciduous trees and shrubs. In mild areas, container-grown evergreens can still be planted out. Elsewhere, leave planting until spring, as cold weather before root establishment causes too much stress. Prepare plants for snow loads. Building small structures over brittle plants or wrapping with burlap will prevent winter damage and help keep plants healthy. If heavy snowfall should occur, gently brush snow in an upward motion from shrubs or trees that are overburdened. If plants are covered with ice, do not touch them, as they will likely break. Let the ice melt on its own. Ensure that the ties around columnar yews, junipers and other conifers are secure. Tie together multi-stemmed evergreen shrubs to prevent breakage from heavy snows. Use a tie that is strong enough to bear the weight and soft enough to avoid cutting through the bark. Old nylon stockings and tights/pantyhose work very well. Finish pruning apple and pear trees to get more light and air into their frameworks. Newly planted evergreens and broad-leafed evergreens can suffer, continue to water these plants, and any other new plants recently planted. Dig a hole for live Christmas trees. Living trees are often a popular choice for holiday decorating. For the best chance of winter survival, these beautiful trees need to be planted outdoors as soon as possible, usually after five days of being inside. Dig the hole before the ground freezes and store the soil indoors so that it remains unfrozen and can be used to plant the tree. Autumn and early winter are ideal times for planting or transplanting both trees and shrubs. Now during the dormant season is the time when both will transplant with the minimum amount of transplanting shock. Be sure to adequately prepare the new planting hole by adding generous amounts of compost. Prepare the new planting soil about twice as large as the root system of the plant being planted or transplanted. Be sure to set the plant at the same level as it was previously growing. Large trees or shrubs should be staked to protect them from wind rock, during strong winter wind storms. Check the ties on wall shrubs and replace if necessary. Winds can break old ties, spraining the stems. Pick flowering sprigs of winter jasmine, wintersweet (Chimonanthus fragrans), witch hazel, Viburnum farreri and Viburnum tinus. If there is a sudden drop in the temperature, provide extra protection for your more tender flowering plants like Rhododendrons, Camellias, Azaleas and Daphne. You can provide temporary, emergency protection by driving in three of four stakes around the plant, and then simply covering the plant with some fleece or a sheet or an old blanket. Don't let this material come into direct contact with the leaves of the plant. Remove the cover completely, as soon as the weather improves a bit. FLOWER GARDEN Give winter protection to tender perennials with a ventilated cloche or bracken. Cover alpines that might rot in winter wet with a firmly propped up pane of glass that allows free passage of air. Woolly or grey-leafed varieties are often susceptible. Remove any dead and decaying leaves from around plants and top up the surface dressing of grit. Pinch out tips of sweet peas sown last month to create bushier growth. Sow seeds of alpine plants that require cold winter temperatures to germinate. Sow into shallow pots or trays filled with sharply draining gritty compost, and place outdoors. Use cloches to protect emerging flowerbuds on Christmas roses (Helleborus niger) if you want to save a few perfect blooms to cut for indoors. Go through flowerbeds, pulling out weeds and unwanted self-sown seedlings while they are still small. Cut back the tops of perennials that have gone dormant. Do not cut back tops of anything that is still green, wait for it to turn yellow or brown, as energy still in the foliage needs to return to the roots. VEGETABLE and FRUIT Plant rhubarb in well manured ground, and cover established plants intended for forcing with a rhubarb pot or light-proof bucket. Complete the digging of vacant borders and vegetable plots on heavy or clay soils, and leave them rough for the frosts to break them down. On light or sandy soils digging can be done throughout the winter. If not done so yet, to encourage new growth, prune apple and pear trees, but not plums and cherries, which are susceptible to disease when pruned in winter. Cut this year's whippy stems back to leave about five buds on each and take out crossing or damaged branches. Prune grapevines now, while they are dormant. If left until late winter, the sap will be rising and will bleed copiously from every cut. Prune back this year's lateral stems to leave one strong bud on each. Renew ties on the framework. Keep orange, lemon, kumquat and other such trees cool and lightly watered until new growth begins around the end of February. Strawberries will benefit from a protective mulch. If not done in November, mulch plants now with straw. Cut down any canes of summer bearing raspberries that fruited this year. Be sure to leave the new canes for next year's fruit. All fall bearing canes should be cut in late winter or very early spring (Feb - Mar). If not done so yet, prune gooseberries and black, red and white currants. If not done so yet, prune apples and pears (but not cherries and plums), and take any rotten fruit off the trees. Top-dress fruit trees under glass with manure and bonemeal, raking it in to the top layer of soil. If required, apply residual weedkiller among established strawberry plants and cane fruits (after leaf fall) to stop weed competition next year. LAWN, COMPOST, GREENHOUSE and POND Start Paperwhite Narcissus inside every 2-3 weeks for continuous bloom. Sharpening up scruffy lawn edges is a time-consuming but most satisfying job - the results are immediately visible. Use a proper half-moon iron and the lawn will look good all winter. Turn the compost heap and ensure it has a well-fitting lid to help maintain heat. Give the lawn what may be its last mowing for the season, depending on the weather. Send mowing machinery for cleaning and servicing now, rather than waiting until spring when you will need to use it. Ensure that fish ponds do not completely ice over. Float a rubber ball on the pond's surface to keep a patch ice-free, or use a saucepan of hot water to melt a hole as needed, be careful of the fish and other wildlife. Check greenhouse plants regularly. Remove dead or decaying leaves and dispose of aphids. Water plants sparingly as required, preferably in the morning. Provide emerging winter bulbs and flowering pot plants with a weak liquid feed. All tender plants should already have been brought under cover, but the cost of keeping greenhouses merely frost-free through winter can be prohibitive. Rather than heat the whole greenhouse, group your plants at the far end, away from the door, and make a screen of bubble wrap to partition them off. Line the walls and roof with bubble wrap, too, and use a heater to warm this area. Bubble wrap is often available off the roll at DIY stores and garden centres. Larger bubbles are claimed to provide better heat conservation. With lawns dormant, it is best to keep off the grass as much as possible. Above all, avoid walking over the same part continuously, wearing a path across it, especially when snow-covered. If you must walk across a certain area repeatedly, use a bridge of boards raised off the lawn with some bricks. This will help to avoid problems such as compaction. LITTLE EXTRA'S This is a good time to replace ragged plant labels while you can still remember what is growing where. Clean up paths and paving, using a knife to clear weeds. Restore or replace trellis-work and other timber structures now, while plants are dormant. This is a good time to clean and sharpen garden tools, and drop hints about which ones are due for replacement (good christmas present ideas). Gardeners are easy people to buy presents for, but if you are fussy about particular brands of tool, ensure that everyone knows. Keep the bird table well stocked for garden birds and ensure it is refilled regularly. The birds do get used to feeding in your garden, and they will rely on you for food. Not all birds are nut and seed feeders, some will prefer fatty scraps or fruit, if possible, provide a varied buffet. Decide to sow something unusual in the new year. Choose something now from one of the many seed catalogue's coming through your door, or from your local garden centre. If you are selecting poinsettias, buy plants with the center yellow flowers not quite open. A tight cluster of flowers is a good indicator of a poinsettia's freshness. The showy bracts (the actual leaves that turn color) should be evenly coloured with the edges of the leaves not having a green cast. Smaller bracts closer to the center of the plant should also have an even colour. Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are tropical, and do not like drafts or sudden chills. Keep them away from doorways or drafty windows, and do not let foliage touch the window panes. If you plan to purchase new poinsettias, be sure the florist or graden centre wraps the plant really well, the top as well as the sides, this will prevent damage from the cold. If you are doing many errands, it is best to make this purchase your last, so that the plant spends as little time as possible in the cold. Being a member of the Euphorbia family, Poinsettia contains a milky juice that is an irritant to the skin, eyes and digestive system. Keep these out of reach of small children. Keep Christmas poinsettias healthy by placing in an evenly warm room, away from draughts or radiators. Mist-spray the leaves with water regularly to prevent them from shrivelling or turning yellow. It also helps to stand the plants on trays of wet gravel. Everyone loves to use live greenery for holiday decorations. If gathering the material yourself, remember that when cutting greenery you are actually pruning the plants. Be sure to think carefully about which branches to cut and which ones to leave. Distribute the cuts evenly around the plant in order to preserve its natural shape. Consider purchasing a live tree this year. Live trees can make a beautiful addition to any landscape after the holidays. If you have chosen a live tree to decorate, keep it inside for a week or less, and never put near a heat source (fireplace, woodstove, radiator, hot air vent), and use a minimum of lights. Fill your window boxes with evergreens. They will look fresh and welcoming all winter, and especially pretty with a dusting of snow. A garden center gift certificate makes a great gift for your gardening friends...or for yourself! String cranberries, popcorn, raisins, rose hips, or crabapples to decorate an outside tree, and provide a welcome food source for birds. When stringing lights outside, keep them on the outside tips of the shrubs to avoid heat build-up within the body of the shrub. Once plants are dormant, it is best to keep them cool. Take in any garden statuary that is porous, and may absorb water, then freeze and crack. Also any wooden garden ornaments, and anything else you make think will be damaged by the frost. Use a camera and a journal to record your garden's winter framework, the starting point for any alterations and plant purchases in the coming year. A little linseed oil applied to the wooden handles of your garden tools will keep them supple, and prevent cracking and splintering. Be sure to clean soil from the blades and tines before you store them for the winter. Turn off all outside taps/faucets. If your outdoor taps/faucets are not self-draining, they should be turned off within the house to prevent freezing and cracking. Also, hoses should be drained and properly stored. Q: What lives in winter, dies in summer, and grows with its root upward? A: An icicle. *smile* "There's one good thing about snow, it makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbor's. ~Clyde Moore~ I have removed my guestbook for the moment, but do write to me via e-mail if you wish, would love to hear from you. Enjoy your gardening this month both indoors and outdoors. FastCounter by bCentral