Brrr…. its still frosty and very cold in mornings, i am still scrapping the ice off my van in the mornings.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a really good new year.

I have been so busy with sorting my allotment out and of course hibinating from this awful cold spell we having.  Yes I have an allotment quite a fair size one too much bigger than i expected and lots of hard work ahead of me too.

This is the idea time to start digging over beds at the moment getting the soil back to being a bit more crumbly, this will allow the rain to penetrate the ground easily and let the roots of shrubs to have a long awaited drink.

With this long cold spell its important to check on your plant pots in and around your garden as some old pots may need replacing if they are like mine brought them thinking that they were frost proof but were sadly disappointed.

i have been regularly feeding the birds/squirrels with cheap sultanas bird seed and old bread that is a bit stale.  I can’t seem to put any peanuts out for the birds, as the squirrels just dig up my many plant pots to hide hide them and then dig them up again a few days later and the mess they make is unbelievable.  

Well my allotment - I was given the allotment December last year and it was in a bit of a mess so I have been clearing the weeds and the huge amounts of couch grass and I have only done about 3rd of te plot at the moment as the weather condition have not been favouriable but finally this week i decided to take the plunge and do a bit of digging.

The other people here on their allotments have been very supportive, one fellow supplied me a old carpet and he put it over the my plot for me, this prevents the weeds from growing and makes the soil conditions ideal for digging. 

After digging over about a 3rd I decided to plant some sweet peas seed, I made four wigwans out of bamboo canes and placed three seeds at the foot of each bamboo cane.

Its raining, so thought I would catch up on my website today.

• Weeds

I have been so busy getting rid of so pesty little weeds and some not quite so small either.  They hide almost everywhere too.   Its best to dig as much as the roots, as possible this will prevent/stop them growing back quite so quickly. 

• Lawns

To keep lawns looking their best, its a good idea to set your lawn mower height to cut medium to high level, as this will ensure that blade of the lawn mower doesn’t cut into the earth and damage the root structure of your grass.  If this happens then the earth becomes open, therefore weeds are able to set their seeds in and spread throughout your lawn. 

• Identifing Problems and finding the correct Solution for your troublesome Lawns

 Weeds - Treat with a weed and feed product follow instuctions on the packet (evergreen is the one I use and recommend).  Make sure that you regularly weed your flower beds/pathways and anywhere weeds are collecting, even in your pots.  By catching the weeds early before they self seed you will prevent them setting up homes in your grass. 

Moss - If moss is a big problem in your garden, it’s usually due to a lack of drainage in your lawn.  I would recommend that you put drainage holes into your lawn by using a garden fork or using a purpose built tool for the job.  and spike holes in the affected areas by making a number of drainage hole this will improve the lawn. Another proven method of improving the drainage of your lawn would be to use lawn sand the spiked areas.

Blue bells and dalfidils coming into there own what colour to fill your garden at this time of year and not forgetting the many spledid colours of the primroses and primulars that are around at the moment. 

i couldn’t resist a scented japonica, one of their hebes and I have deciced to create a small herb gardenwithin a container  this year, I purchase all my plants plymouth garden cenre .  I really recommend anyone to take a look next time you have some free time, The peope are so helpful and their displays are delightful and eye catching, will give you plenty of ideas for your own garden.  

If like me you you were waiting for snow, and the sky only offered a light covering you must be very disappointed as was I.  I was sitting glued to the weather forcast this week to see if we would get our share of the snow. 

I must admit I love to see snow and here in Plymouth its quite rare to see it now a days.  I think the last big snow fall we had in Plymouth was around 1986, and I remember it really well as the whole city came to a complete stand still, as did the city of London yesterday.

Well not much gardening to do this week, just to keep your delicate plants covered and brake up the ice on water bowls, so that the birds can take a drink and don’t forget to feed them too. 

My bird feeders are full of different kinds of bird feed.  I always make sure that they are all topped up this time of year, so that the birds and the squirrels have plenty to eat.  I love feeding the squirrels, I can’t resist watching them twist, turn upside down and then skate around my decking.  I have many birds that visit too and they don’t seem to be too bother by the squirrels, although I do have a large combination of feeders for them to choose from so there’splenty to go around.  I have two stand alone feeders one small but tall, another which is compact but has lots of attachments with various hooks that we can hang food from for the birds.  We also have a few ground feeders too.

I get my food for the feeders from the Plymouth Garden Centre at Crownhill, as it has a large variety of bird feed to encourage the birds you would like to attract in your garden, they even have hedgehog food too.  The garden center also sells special feed for squirrels, which deters them from eating all the nuts and sunflower seeds I put out for the birds.   

Time to clear ponds, paths and any leaves that are hanging around underneigth shrubs and trees.  January is fairly quite, so it good to catch up on any cleaning jobs around the garden such as;

• Bird tables, seed feeders and water feeds.
• Green house windows, floors, table tops.
• Patios
• Decking
• Old terracotta pots you can clean up and use them again for your new plants, any which are broken, why not use them as a drainage aid for your new plants.  Just place the broken pieces at the bottom of the pot then cover them with compost, add your favorite plant.  This with improve the drainage and prevent the roots from sitting in water and roting.
• Ponds will need clearing this time of year, over grown pond weed should be removed and your pond level maybe looking a bit low, so this would be the idea time get thinking about filling it before the frogs begin to lay their eggs.  its also a good idea to remove any unwanted debris such as litter, leaves and sticks.

Well for those people still braving the elements, here are a few tasks to keep you busy;

• Any tender plants will need lifting, especially if you live in an area where there tends to be frost pockets, frost will damage tender plants.  i.e. Dahlias, Geraniums and fuchsias. However here in the West Country your dahlias will be fine.  Other tender plants will be absolutely fine, as long as they are kept in a sheltered part of the garden, away from harsh winds and driving rain. 
• Dahlias - Here in the West Country it is best to cut the spent flowers, dying foliage down to about 6 inches above the ground level and leave the tubers in the ground.   In order to protect them against possible frost it’s advisable to add a thick layer of mulch over the ground. 
• Lilies - if your lilies are in pots that can be easily moved than I would suggest that they are place in the green house before the winter sets in.  If you are unable to move your lilies because the pots are too heavy, then I would suggest that the pot is covered with a piece of fleece.   Should be taken into the green house.   If in moveable pots if not then the pots can be covered with fleece, again covered in the thick layer of mulch. 
• Dead Leaves - should be removed from your lawns and flower beds.  If they are left, pests and disease will set in and ultimately your plants will be at risk and may die as a result.

I tried to juggle my clients around and fit everyone in around the days that were dry.  However I must admit I did have to play catch up a bit with some gardens as some days were impossible to get any work done at all.  Here some jobs for us to get done before the next lot of rain decides to fall. 

• Rambling and climbing roses - should be pruned back to the ground or to the next healthy growth.  Make sure you wear protective glasses and a good pair of gloves (especially for roses), as the thorns are almost impossible to miss.
• Standard roses should be pruned to healthy growth.  To achieve this; take a clean sharp pair of secateurs and make a clean cut, just above a outward facing bud, the cut should be at an angle so that rain water will run off, this will help prevent any diseases setting in. 
• To ensure that your all your roses stay healthy, prune out all damaged, dead and diseased stems and feed them regularly in the growing season.  Also watch out for pests and diseases and act quickly to prevent more damage.
• Its time to heighten your lawn mower so that the blade just takes of the top of the grass. 
• Before winter sets in its a good time to take up those non hardy perennial plants, put them in a pot with a layer fresh compost and place them in the green house. 
• This is a good time to take your cuttings of pelargoniums and place them in the green house ready for next year.
• Its important to keep turning your compost heaps, as the next season it will be time for you to cover flower beds and borders with a lovely layer of compost to help keep the ground warm while adding a layer of nutrients for the spring bulbs.  The compost is ready when all the ingredients have decomposed and the compost is crumbly.

At the moment I think the weather here in the south west is more like tropical rain forest, where the rain water comes in either light, misty or gigantic rain drops, but, then we have had some really hot days last month.  

• Its time for killing the weeds in your lawn and giving it a good feed. 
• Lillies should be given a good layer of mulch now ready for next year.  No matter how tempting it is to cut back the stems, once the flowers have died its much better to let the stems die back natually in order to obtain a healthly growth and flowers next year, as all the energy from the stems goes straight back into the bulbs.
• Ensure your plants, shrubs, hedges and trees all get a good feed.   Make sure you treat your roses for  black spot/pest and diseases.
• Keep an eye out for slugs and snails.  They’ll be hiding under overgrown foilage!
• Campanula (blue bell like flowers) needs to be tidied up now by taking off the old spent flower stems and cutting back to the new foilage.
• Wisteria - The new long shoots need to be kept in control and cut back into shape.
• Even though we have had a lot of rain here in the south west, its still a good idea to make sure that your plants in pots and baskets are well watered, as the rain may not reach all the roots.  
• Bindweed is loving this damp and wet weather so it’s important to keep it under control as much as possible.  This weed strangles and stops light getting at your plants, eventually your plant will become sickly and may die back if the bindweed is not taken off the stems.
• Hedges should be cut back hard now.

• Any shrubs which have finished flowering, need to be pruned back into shape.
• Sunflowers need to be supported, this will help prevent them from falling over and braking.
• Sunflowers will also need watering, feed well now so that they produce strong growth and wonderful healthy flowers.
•  Its still not too late to treat your lawn and get it looking tip top.  Why not get a good weed and feed product and treat the lawn.  If your lawn is particularly plagued with weeds, a couple of treatments may be needed.  Also if your lawn is more moss than grass then a couple of treatments will be necessary.  When I come across moss, it normally means a drainage problem so I normally put several rows of holes in the ground by using a large gardening fork and once I put the fork into the ground I then lift the fork slightly as if I was going to lift the grass.  This  is brilliant technique which I was so pleased to pick up from a very good friend of mine, works every time!

• After the flowers have faded on the shrubs in the garden its to trim them back.  This will promote new growth.
• If you have feeding stations its time to fill them up and feed the wild birds and their babies.  They love to eat friut, oats, bird seed.