Flowers

Advertisement MPU misc

Fruit and veg

  • Place straw around the base of parsnips to prevent the soil freezing, which can make harvesting difficult
  • Plant blackberries, such as thornless 'Loch Ness', for easy pickings of large, sweet, juicy fruits
  • Winter prune large fruit trees, such as apples and pears, to control their shape and size, and to increase their productivity
  • Plant fruit trees trained as cordons, fans or espaliers to make good use of limited space
  • Start to plan next year's crops and order seeds
  • Tidy up raspberry and blackberry beds – weed and mulch with compost, then tie new stems to support wires
  • Lift and divide large clumps of rhubarb, replanting the outer sections into soil enriched with well-rotted manure
  • Keep kale, winter cabbages and other brassicas covered with netting to protect them from hungry pigeons
  • Finish clearing old crops and debris from the veg plot, but only compost healthy material
  • Remove yellowed leaves on brassicas, so fungal diseases such as grey mould and downy mildew don't take hold
  • Make sure Brussels sprouts don't topple over in strong winds - tie to a cane for support and earth up the stems
  • Prune grapevines, cutting back side-branches to one or two buds from the main stem

Greenhouse

  • Pot up a clump of rhubarb and place under a large bin to force an early crop of sweet stems
  • Pick faded leaves and dead flowers regularly from plants overwintering in the greenhouse, such as pelargoniums
  • Pinch out the tips of autumn-sown sweet peas to encourage bushier growth
  • Deadhead indoor azaleas, water regularly and provide cool conditions, away from radiators, to prolong flowering
  • Monitor greenhouse temperatures with a max-min thermometer to ensure heaters are working efficiently
  • Bring hyacinths growing in the greenhouse into your home to flower, placing in a cool, bright spot
  • Water plants sparingly to keep the greenhouse as dry as possible, which should reduce outbreaks of disease
  • Prune greenhouse grapevines while dormant
  • Water florists' cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum) from below, and deadhead regularly to encourage more blooms
  • Check overwintering plants in the greenhouse for red spider mite and other pests, and treat if necessary
Advertisement MPU misc

House plants

Amaryllis 'Carmen'
Amaryllis 'Carmen'

Garden maintenance

  • Top up bird baths with fresh water every day during frosty weather 
  • Bring all watering equipment indoors, including hoses and sprinklers, so they don't freeze and split
  • Scoop fallen leaves and debris from ponds, leave on the side so pond life can escape, then add to the compost bin
  • Stand your Christmas tree in a bucket of water in a sheltered spot outdoors until it's time to bring it indoors
  • Clear out your shed, and organise and clean your tools
  • Check tree ties and stakes are firm enough to stand up to winter storms
  • Prune blackcurrants once dormant, removing about a quarter of the old stems
  • Order well-rotted manure or mushroom compost to dig in over winter or spread over bare soil as mulch for worms to take down
  • Order summer-flowering bulbs such as lilies and gladioli
£45.50 £85.50 Includes optional free seed pack

Perfect for growing herbs, salads, flowers and fruiting vegetables, in your kitchen, on your desktop, or just about anywhere! If you love cooking, the Seed Pantry Grow Pod 2 is essential for having the freshest ingredients, ready to pick.

Use code: GWMFEB23

Ends in:
£12.99 £24.99 Supplied as a pack of 60 pro+ plug plants

Geranium 'Fire Queen' is a real favourite, and it’s no wonder, with its large, vivid red flowers, long flowering period, and good weather tolerance it’s sure to create a top display in any garden. This popular variety offers rich fiery red displays for all your garden borders, baskets and containers once grown on, flowering from mid-spring to the first frost.

Offer Ends:
£24.99 Supplied as an established plant, approx. 65-80cm tall in a 19cm pot.

Fuchsias are one of the most versatile of garden plants; their iconic flower colours and shapes decorating our summer gardens year after year. Here we offer you a lovely plant in flower and bud that will add instant impact and colour to your garden or patio from now until the first frosts of winter. With care and a frost-protected greenhouse, it will over-winter as well to give another gorgeous display.

Offer Ends: