Mzzz B's December Garden Blog – Yes, Still Jobs to Do in December!

Having harvested cooking apples, pumpkin and quinces from the garden, the last month I have been caught up with finding out different ways to cook them. Combinations of these three are just delicious!

Cydonia Oblonga the quince tree makes a small fruit tree, which has lovely early white flowers followed by gorgeous yellow pear shaped fruits, would be good in any small garden! Bare rooted could be planted now.

(Photo of Quince- Cydonia Oblonga, not Japonica which is a Chaenomeles!)

It certainly has been a good year for some things!

So, it's mid-December (the weather is less wet – well it was at the time of writing this) and it is time to sit in the warm and try and plan your garden for next year. Go out on sunny days and take photos, look at the structures, what works what doesn't. Does your garden have any interest in winter or is it just a blank space? Take photos so that you can have a record of the good bits and the problems. Think about decorative evergreen shrubs, and grasses which can be cut down in early spring to add interest. And remember all those seed-heads which still look good and catch the frost.

But there are a few things you can still do as well as working off some of those additional calories:

• Prune apples and pear trees.
• Plant Camellias, there are some that will flower at Christmas such as "Yuletide", needs a west facing sheltered border. Could also be planted in a pot with ericaceous compost.
• Clear away soggy foliage from borders, rotting vegetation is never good.
• Sow onion seeds on Boxing Day ( according to Monty Don!)
• Plant shallot sets close to the shortest day ready for harvesting on the longest day! Cover with fleece whilst weather is harsh. Or if your soil is wet clay put them into small pots and keep in greenhouse or frame and plant out when soil has warmed up.
• Divide old rhubarb crowns to encourage vigour.
• And on Christmas Day I always like to go into the garden and see how many things are still flowering. This is the time of year for winter flowering honeysuckle, maybe Christmas roses, /hellebores, and lovely perfumed flowering shrubs like sarcococca / sweet box or Christmas box, and it is often surprising how many roses are still flowering.