Gardening in december

December has been very wintry so far. Sub-zero temperatures at night and hardly more than zero during the day. The meteorologists are apparently not sure what the weather will be like in the next few weeks. From minus 15 degrees and a harsh east wind, to heavy snowfall and sunny days at 0 – 10 degrees, everything seems to be possible.

As always, let us surprise you.

Depending on the weather, the following activities are still planned in the garden this month:

• Where possible, further pruning in the borders
• Check for voles
• Mow the lawn in sunny weather (no kidding)
• Control of potted spring rose seedlings and spring bulbs

One of the nice activities in winter is providing winter food for our bird life. Ground nuts for robins, wrens and tits, as well as a special mixture of grains for general feeding.

December also makes it possible to start preparatory work for the bees and our plant quarter.

So writing labels and creating plant signs; soldering and stocktaking of jars & beeswax.

I heard on the radio today that at least the days aren’t getting shorter after today. Just over 10 days, then we’ll have the Bergfest in winter and the days will be longer again.

Happy Advent everyone!