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What to do now?

Hey all, So I'm new to gardening and this website alike, and started putting real effort into my first garden this year (I've lived in my house for 8 years but as I near 30 I've discovered the gardening bug and recently hard landscaped my garden) I've put a lot of effort in this year with bulbs flower beds getting soil ready and all manor of things, however I find myself at a loss now the cold has hit. Am I missing something important? I'm going out when it's not raining and keeping on top of the weeds that pop up but am feeling quite lost now, I'm looking forward to spring so I can see how my hard work turns out. What do all of you do at this time of year when the garden is sleeping so to speak? Peroxiss.

Posts

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,023

    We look at gardening catalogues and plan for next spring!

    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190

    Hello Peroxiss, welcome to the site

    I use this couple of months to have a little rest from the hard stuff. I have plants in the greenhouse, seedlings, so sometimes I will pot some on, check for any dead leaves, general tidy up. I had a pond this year, so I like to take a stroll down to see that, there is a chair down there, so can just sit. Its nice to just go out and do nothing.

    The garden, now I have almost finished mulching, will get left, the frosts or snow will stop the weeds growing, they will be back with a vengance in the Spring, so not worth bothering now.

    After Christmas, I will get all my seeds out, put them in sowing order, that will start in Feb. Thats about it I think, take it easy now, you will be double busy in the Spring with seeds, cuttings, dividing etc.

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • granmagranma Posts: 1,933

    Welcome  Peroxide you have joined a lovely forum I'm sure you will gain loads of knowledge on here. I do some of the things like Lyn but not very often ,I live in a colder area than Lyn ! image

    I am though going to plan  the garden etc f or next year and also get   all my seeds organised for bekkies seed swap , so members might just get their seed earlier !image

  • granmagranma Posts: 1,933

    Sorry please excuse my kindle it's changed your name , I'd clicked on submit before I'd checked.it's something my kindle does quite often 

  • Hi Peroxiss.

    And welcome to the world of the gardener.

    I usually just clean the garden from dead leaves and generally tidy up, also I usually clean the garden tools, sharpen them and oil them up for next year. Planning the garden for next year choosing which plants to buy and where to put them passes the time, also choosing plants to start from seeds as some plants are expensive to buy fully grown, this can be fun researching how to seed different plants and exciting. I know you have said you have planted all the bulbs and just waiting for next year but think about pots and what and where to put in them or a climber against a wall or fence.

    But as Lyn said it is a good time to rest and take it easy for a while as soon as spring is here and it wont belong, as I cant believe a year has almost pasted already, you will be out everyday being busy. Enjoy it while you can. Have a lovely Christmas and enjoy.

  • Hey all, thanks alot for the replies I really appreciate the feedback! Sorry it took me so long to reply I've been on horrible long shifts image and yes grandma my galaxy note III does that all the time it's annoying as hell! I've already done alot of my cleaning and luckily not many leaves around, I do however keep going out to Potter here and there, I guess I'm just impatient! I'll start looking at pots and things for sure, somehow I'd completely neglected to think about adding more potted plants image thanks again for the warm welcome and the helpful constructive advice.



    Peroxiss
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,491

    Hello Peroxiss,

    I find I miss my gardening "fix" this time of year so go up to my local garden centre once a week or so  to see what plants are in flower at a reasonable price. I bought a lovely white hellebore from Homebase for just £5 last week. I then cheated and just dug a hole to put the pot in where I could see the flowers near the front door and will plant it properly in the spring. You could also use a decorative pot of course and keep changing the flower display when they go over or get frosted.

    Another good way of passing the time is to get hold of some old gardening magazines and look through them for ideas for next year. Try your local Freecycle group and post a Wanted ad - it's all free stuff, you just have to collect it. I use it all year to get hold of free gardening stuff.

    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • GemmaJFGemmaJF Posts: 2,286

    I went to the garden center today, said how I had finished in the garden for the year, so they asked, 'what are all the seed trays and compost for then?'. Oh I say, I'm getting ready for next year. image

    I'm doing my planning, ordering seeds and stuff over Christmas and January, done with all the really big jobs until the spring but it would feel very odd to stop altogether now. Will be making a bench in the potting shed when being nice to everyone at Christmas gets too much for me, probably start it sometime on Boxing Dayimage image

     

     

  • ClaringtonClarington Posts: 4,949

    As late as then Gemma? I'd be out at lunch on Christmas Day if I could! image

    I'm like Gemna: all my seed trays are washed and my seed list getting longer everytime I nip into a garden centre. But I'll be starting my chilli seeds in January which will give me "a fix" until the frosts are over!

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