In the garden: Drawing up a winter plan for pruning and planting

The ground is saturated underfoot right now, and it is not great weather for making progress with any soil-related work out in the garden.

Getting the spring bulbs into the soil before Christmas is as good as it gets once the rain starts in winter.

It is also great to get some pruning started at this side of the festive season if possible, just to have the ball rolling for the new year. Any pruning that can be done from pathways and hard surfacing to avoid walking on the soil is a great option when the soil is waterlogged.

Lots of seasonal pruning is beneficial to particular plants in the garden over winter. It becomes cyclical in nature, with certain jobs needing to be ticked off of the list by a certain time each year.

Wall-trained roses will benefit from a winter pruning and taming with the three Ds to start with - Dead, Diseased and Damaged stems getting the chop as the first step in tackling what can be a pretty big tangle of stems at the end of the growing season.

Any stems growing directly outwards and directly upwards can be taken out, or the upwards stems can be trained horizontally to replace any older, dead or dying stems. Stems trained to grow horizontally along the wall will produce more flowers than upright growth.

The objective of pruning can differ for plants, but it is mainly is to keep the plant under control, have flowers produced where they will be seen and required, and rejuvenate the plant.

When shrubs get older, they are not as vigorous or floriferous and so may need a helping hand to encourage new growth from the base to invigorate and produce healthy growth.

Woody, hardy shrubs can largely be tackled in the winter months, some that flower on older wood may miss out on a year of flower as a consequence of hard pruning, but it will repay in the long term as it will rejuvenate the plant and stimulate new growth.

After pruning, it is a good idea to mulch with garden compost and top-dress with chicken manure pellets in springtime to provide a boost of nutrients for the plant when it comes into growth.

I like to get started with wall-trained roses before Christmas, leaving fruit trees until the new year, and waiting to tackle more frost sensitive shrubs like hydrangeas until later into springtime.

The general feeling in the garden now is one of winding down as we head towards the end of the year, and once the new year arrives then there is a different, more expectant vibe in the air as we will want spring to arrive as soon as possible!

Gardening provides us with routine each year with seasonal jobs completed at a similar time each year. The cycle of nature gives us as much certainty as is possible in today’s world.

We are all looking after different spaces, creating different microclimates and ecosystems within our own confines.

The winter vegetable garden is providing kale, celeriac, brussels sprouts and leeks this December. The cabbage family are such a great winter staple in the kitchen garden.

Purple sprouting broccoli, which does not usually start developing until the new year, is starting to produce already too, which may be as a result of the exceptionally mild autumn we experienced this year.

There is some planning and effort involved during the summer months to get these crops into the ground and established before the weather turns, but it is a worthwhile exercise as it means there is plenty to harvest during the greyer winter months.

These crops tend to need longer in the ground before they start producing, with brussels sprouts occupying space for 6-8 months before harvest.

It is important that they are staked as the wind can be challenging and there is considerable weight on the main stem.

Once the risk of caterpillars has passed, which was well into November this year, then this crop is pretty resilient during frost and rain.

Herbs fresh from the garden are a great one at this time of year also, and in recent years I found planting some in the polytunnel in summer for use over winter is useful.

Thyme, rosemary, winter savoury, parsley and tarragon are particular favourites. Fresh herbs give a boost of flavour like nothing else, and when grown under cover, the growth is softer and more tender under more favourable growing conditions.

Plant of the Week

At this time of the year, foliage is so important, particularly evergreen foliage, which gives structure to the garden as well as providing material for festive floral arrangements.

Pittosporum are amongst some of the best evergreen shrubs for the garden. Native to New Zealand, Australia, Asia and southern Africa, many are hardy in our climate, but some of the more tender species like Pittosporum tobira may need some protection from winter frosts.

They have compact shapes, take pruning well, and provide evergreen foliage in shades of green, grey/silver, golden and purple.

They come in many shapes and sizes, making them suitable for giving the effect of a small tree like ‘Silver Queen’ that can get to four metres tall and a three-metre spread, or more compact forms like ‘Tom Thumb’ make a small shrub easily maintained in the garden getting to about a metre height and spread.

They prefer full sun or partial shade in a sheltered site with free-draining soil, and do not like to be transplanted, so choose the planting location carefully before digging that hole.