Mzz B's December Garden

Sad weeping pear tree

Storms like Storm Darragh are never good for the garden. We came off reasonably lightly with one 29 year old weeping pear tree down and the field flooded more than usual. Tattenhall once again became a virtual island, but it's amazing how quickly everything has flowed away. But the ground now is sodden and impossible to do very much in the garden.The pear tree will provide some useful firewood and an opportunity to think about what we should grow in its place. It was under planted with shade loving plants and snowdrops- they are all now lacking any shade!
So this is the time to think about the garden next year, make plans, review what's good and what needs changing in the garden and buy your veg and flower seeds, Remember if you are a member of Tattenhall Gardening society you get a very good discount from Dobies.
Also with all those bits of tree that have been blown down maybe think of natural Christmas decorations instead of plastic. Wreaths, bunches of holly and ivy, dried seed heads sprayed silver if you must, berries, can all be brought in to the house to make a sustainable Christmas.

Other jobs to do:

• Rake up all those leaves that have now blown off and make leaf mould- either in a large plastic bag with hole in it or in a wire cage. It makes really good soil conditioner or mulch after a year of so.
• Think about the wildlife you want to encourage into the garden- hedgehogs need routes between gardens- so make a hedgehog size hole at the base of your fence into your neighbours garden (check they are ok with this!),
• Leave piles of twigs/logs etc for insects, toads,
• Plan to grow more wildlife friendly plants – flowers that are good for pollinators – single flowers not doubles.
• Make a pond – even a small one will attract all sorts of wildlife from frogs and toads to dragonflies.
• Encourage birds into your garden with bird feeders and they will hopefully return to eat the insect pests in the summer- make sure you wash them out regularly to prevent the spread of disease.

Click on images to enlarge.

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