green fingers
January Gardening Happy New Year! If you’ve been cooped up indoors over Christmas, why not get some fresh air in the garden? Winter rain means the soil is easy to work, so long as it’s not frozen, so dig over bare patches, which will soon warm you up. Supplied by Garsons Garden Centre www.garsons.co.uk This month’s gardening advice is dedicated to wildlife-friendly gardening, since birds and other wildlife need a helping hand during the coldest months. If the ground isn’t frozen, consider planting some wildlife-friendly shrubs which produce berries that birds love to feed on in mid-winter. As well as being useful to birds, these shrubs add interest through the less colourful months when much of the garden is dormant. The Cotoneaster gives colour and berries right through the winter – blackbirds are especially fond of them. It grows in full sun and partial shade and should reward you with lots of red berries in winter and flowers in summer. For an alternative to the tall-growing Cotoneaster, the Horizontalis variety provides ground cover and will grow to about 3 ft 4” /100cm high, with a spread of about 180cm. Pyracantha is another shrub that’s loved by birds for the yellow, red or orange berries. Because of their thorny nature, they provide a good security barrier round the edge of your garden. Berberis Darwinii is a hardy and fast-growing evergreen shrub that grows to around three foot square. It makes a good hedge and produces golden-orange flowers in spring followed by berries in autumn. Again, birds love the berries during the autumn and winter months. As their natural food declines, many wild birds rely on food from bird tables and in garden feeders. Make sure it’s high energy food as smaller birds in particular need large amounts to keep energy levels high. Ideal choices are balls of fat, suet cakes and treats, dried mealworms, peanuts and high energy
seed mixes. Once you start feeding, try and keep going through the winter as they come to rely on it. Did you know different bird feeders suit different types of birds? Garsons has a wide range of feeders and feed. As well as basic feed mixes, there are different types of seed to attract specific species.The knowledgeable team will be happy to advise you on how to attract a wide variety of birds to your garden. Keep an unfrozen water source available throughout cold weather as birds will not only drink but bathe to keep their feathers in good condition. Other wildlife will drink from it too. If nesting boxes are left up over winter, birds will use them for night-time roosting. You can also get little habitats for bees, ladybirds and other insects – we’re late in the season for those as the insects have already hibernated, but you might want to get an insect habitat for later in the year. Other jobs in the garden this month: Prune apple and pear trees now before they start to bud. Remove dead or weak looking branches and aim for a strong shape with well-spaced branches. Check stakes and supports that have taken a battering from winter weather. Clear away dead branches and debris from your borders, but leave it a little messy for wildlife.
Until next month, happy gardening!
JANUARY 2013 •
.co.uk …65