KEY TASKS THIS MONTH

  • January is the month for planning your garden!
  • Figure out which seeds you want to sow and get ready to finish up winter digging
  • Protect your plants from the cold by mulching them with organic material, and winter prune fruit trees
  • Make sure your lawn is well-aerated to aid drainage, and plant out rhubarb
  • Plant new hedges this month, making sure to water them well
  • Sow onion seed as soon as possible so you can harvest winter vegetables later on
  • Start "chitting" seed potatoes so they'll be ready to plant in the springtime!

 

PREP

It's also important to prepare your garden for the month of April, there are certain jobs you need to do in order to get ready!

  •  Plan your summer flower planting now, and think about what vegetables you want to grow this year. 
  •  You can also start young plants on your windowsill for lovely hanging baskets later on.
  • January is a great time to get excited about gardening and prepare for a beautiful summer!

 

WHAT TO PLANT THIS MONTH

  • Lily bulbs, amaryllis bulbs, and bare root hedging plants and trees
  • Roses can also be planted this month, but make sure you add Mycorrhizal funghi to the soil for optimum growth
  • And don't forget to sprout seed potatoes so you'll have some delicious new potatoes later in the year!

 

PRUNING

Pruning and training your plants is a vital step for a beautiful garden! Over the winter months, your plants have definitely overgrown even damaged, so for healthy future growth it's important to prune!

  • Tidy up your trees and shrubs, cutting out any dead, diseased or damaged wood
  •  Prune established freestanding apple and pear trees, and gooseberries and redcurrants, cutting side shoots back to three buds from their base
  • Lift and divide herbaceous perennials- this will help them grow new foliage and flowers next year.

 

GARDEN  MAINTENANCE

Maintenance! It's great to get prepared for the month of April, but you need to keep up with certain jobs to make sure it stays the same;

  • Clear away all of the leaves, moss, and debris that can build up over time and smother your plants
  • Take vulnerable plants inside or into the greenhouse
  • Top up birdbaths with fresh water every day
  •  Make sure to clean and insulate your greenhouse

 

WILDLIFE

Make sure to encourage wildlife in your garden

  • Keep feeders well stocked up! Whether it's fat balls or just seeds, it will encourage birds into your garden!
  • If possible leave some areas undisturbed so birds can begin nesting
  • Hedgehogs! Encourage hedgehogs in your garden by leaving a ‘wild’ area, they say if a garden is healthy hedgehogs will appear!
  • Build an insect box! These can attract insects such as ladybirds which actually feed off insect pests!