Top Tips for January 

With a fresh New Year ahead, here's our top gardening tips for the first month of 2018

 

So you made it through the cold turkey sandwiches, unwanted presents and stale mince pies, and we're now firmly into 2018.

  

With that in mind, here's our list of things to do in the garden this January:

 

1. Have a quick tidy up! You've probably spent the last few weeks stuck inside, so now's the time to get out in the garden and give it a pre-spring clean.

 
- Check plant supports and ties for any signs of damage

- Drain standing water from surfaces

- Clear any remaining leaves from last autumn

- Give the greenhouse a good clear out!

 
2. Make your bed. No, not the sleeping kind. Clear away any old crops from last year and fork in some manure or nutrient-rich compost, to ready your beds for planting later on in the season. 

 

3. Plan for frosts. It might have been a mild Christmas, but there's still a chance that the weather could take a turn for the worst. Be sure to wrap any non-hardy or vulnerable plants in fleece or burlap sacking. 

 

4. Add a bit of colour. If you've got some cyclamen or azalea, continue deadheading the spent flower heads and they'll keep going throughout the last bit of winter.

 

Plant

 

Garlic (last chance!)

Shrubs

Bare-root roses

Fruit bushes