December gardening jobs

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It takes quite a lot to tempt me outside in December, but once I’m coated, booted and scarved and do get outside, I suddenly realise quite how much there is to do. With my (rather unflattering) beanie hat snugly pulled down, it’s time to work through my Seasonal Checklist…

1. Wrap pots or bring inside
I’ve lost count of the number of terracotta pots I’ve lost in recent years that have been cracked and damaged by frost. To avoid adding more to the tally I’m emptying any not in use and storing them in my shed. Those in use will benefit from an overcoat, so during the coldest periods I’ll keep them wrapped in bubble polythene to help provide insulation from cold.

2. Store hose reels under cover
Hose cart, fittings and nozzles are easily damaged in winter. When water trapped inside freezes it expands and cracks them. I mistakenly thought in the past that metal ones would be robust enough to withstand the cold, only to find them completely split open by ice! Bring all irrigation equipment under cover right away.

3. Insulate outside tap
Not only must I turn off the stopcock to my garden tap to isolate the water supply (mine is almost hidden behind pipework under the kitchen sink), but I must wrap insulation material round the brass tap itself. Again, I just use layers and layers of old bubble wrap I’ve saved from packaging during the year, and hold this in place with elastic bands.

4. Fill the bird feeders
There’s been an endless queue of birds to the feeders over the past week. They’re certainly hungry, as the four fat balls in one feeder ‘disappeared’ in about three days! I love these feeders that I hang from a branch, and enjoy watching the aeronautical displays of blue tits, starlings and sparrows on the feeders and also the blackbirds, robin, collared dove and other ground feeders below.

5. Top up the bird bath
A fresh water supply is vital for garden birds, so I keep my bird bath and other large saucers topped up with water. These become frozen on cold nights, so I pop out with the boiling water left in the kettle after making my first brew of the day to melt them. The bracing cold also helps to wake me up! (Note to self: add thermal pyjamas to my Christmas list).

6. Complete seed order before Christmas
My neat pile of 2013 seed catalogues is sitting next to me waiting to be read. I know that I'll be growing tomatoes, chillies, cucumbers, climbing courgettes, and some of those trailing begonias that did so well last summer, so I must choose my varieties. Planning for the year ahead will give me something to look forward to, and get me through this cold winter.

In addition to all these jobs, there are still more leaves to rake up, old crops to clear and compost, veg beds to dig over, and then winter pruning to start...

Now, what have I missed?

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