GARDEN NOTES

garden notes News, products and advice for the new season SEASONAL SENSATION WINTER-FLOWERING HONEYSUCKLE

Most people associate honeysuckle with summer, but Lonicera fragrantissima, the winter-flowering honeysuckle, puts on a fantastic show of richly scented flowers just when the days are at their darkest. It’s a super-hardy shrub that thrives in any well-drained soil in sun or part shade and needs virtually no maintenance.

Sow, sow

If you’ve got cloches, a cold frame or a wad of horticultural fleece you can sow carrot seeds as early as February – so you need to order your seed right now! ‘Adelaide’ and ‘Nantes 2’ are excellent choices for early sowings. Grow them in deep containers if you’re short of garden space.

PERFECT PINES

If you want a Christmas tree that stays in peak condition throughout the festive season your best bet is to buy a healthy tree from a local independent nursery. As always Braithwaites at Leeming Bar (braithwaitesnursery.co.uk) has a splendid selection of top quality trees – Nordman, Norway Spruce and Fraser Fir – and their friendly staff will be happy to advise which type best fits your needs.

TOP LOPPER

Winter is the best time to prune most trees and shrubs, and with these National Trust loppers from Burgon & Ball (burgonandball.com) you can make short work of the job. With their drop-forged, high-carbon steel blades and sturdy ash handles they’re both practical and handsome. Get snipping!

Mistletoe magic

Enjoy kissing under the mistletoe? If you have a mature apple tree you can grow your own! Pick mistletoe berries in February, squeeze out the sticky seeds and lodge them in crevices on medium-large branches of your tree. If they germinate you’ll have your own source of festive mistletoe sprigs in a year or two.

Fuss-free fencing

A maintenance-free fence that won’t rot, split or warp? It may sound too good to be true, but that’s what the DuraPost Composite fencing system offers. DuraPost uses steel posts that can be used combined with timber for a cosy traditional look or with DuraPost Composite panels if you fancy a super-sleek contemporary style. Now available from Fall Timber at Leeming Bar Industrial Estate, falltimber.co.uk

PAMPER YOUR PANSIES

Winter pansies make a splendid show in containers and hanging baskets, but often gardeners plant them and then forget to look after them. Give them a slow-release fertiliser and make sure to deadhead them regularly to ensure new growth, otherwise they’ll run out of steam early in the new year.

This stylish terracotta egg from the RSPB shop, shopping. rspb.org.uk, makes an excellent feeding station for small birds like blue tits or robins. Simply hang it from a branch, fill it with a mix of sunflower seeds and mealworms and you’ll soon have a garden full of satisfied feathered customers.

Tour de force

From January onwards you can start forcing rhubarb, that’s to say depriving plants of light to encourage sweet, tender new stalks to grow. You don’t need a special rhubarb forcer – a plastic dustbin or large bucket will serve equally well. Simply plonk it over the rhubarb crown and sit back and wait!

ROSY FUTURE

It’s a lot cheaper to buy bare-root roses now than buying pot-grown roses in spring. They’re available from now until March, but bag yours soon before stocks run low. Get them in the ground immediately you get hold of them – any time the soil isn’t frozen rock hard will do.

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