December in the garden: Embrace the Structure and Winter Glow

As the days reach their shortest and temperatures settle, the garden enters a period of rest—but not entirely of stillness. While the layers of herbaceous perennials have receded, revealing the bare bones of the landscape, it’s the structure provided by evergreens and hardscaping that truly comes into its own. These elements provide essential stability and form throughout the seasons.

Don’t mistake the cold for a lack of colour! Stepping out on a clear, frosty, sunny day is still a pleasure. The winter garden offers its own unique palette, featuring the vibrant blooms of winter-flowering heathers and the cheerful yellow of Jasminum nudiflorum and Hamamelis mollis. Further colour is supplied by the jewels of the season: the berries of shrubs like Callicarpa and Ilex aquifolium (holly), and the stunning bark of trees such as Betula (birch) and the peeling cinnamon tones of Acer griseum.

Flowers

• Continue to cut back faded herbaceous perennials and add them to the compost heap.
• If the weather remains mild, you can still lift and divide herbaceous perennials. This will increase stocks and revive tired or poorly flowering clumps.
• Root cuttings can be taken now, such as Papaver (perennial poppies), Phlox and Anemones.
• Order seed catalogues, if you have not done so already, to select next year’s bedding and perennial choices.
• Bring forced bulbs into a warm room to encourage them to flower.

Fruit and veg

• Place straw around the base of parsnips to prevent soil freezing, which can make harvesting difficult.
• Winter prune large fruit trees to control their shape and size, and to increase fruiting productivity for next year.
• Plan next year’s crops and order seeds.

Greenhouse

• Pick faded leaves and dead flowers regularly from plants overwintering in the greenhouse, such as pelargoniums.
• Check that greenhouse heaters are working.
• If the weather is mild, ventilate the greenhouse.

Garden maintenance

• Scoop fallen leaves and debris from ponds, leave them on the side so pond life can escape, and then add them to the compost bin.
• Insulate outdoor taps and prevent ponds from freezing.
• Protect terracotta pots from cracking in freezing weather by either bringing them indoors or wrapping them in bubble polythene.
• Raise outdoor patio containers onto feet or bricks to avoid them sitting in the winter wet.
• Rake up fallen leaves in borders that could be harbouring slugs and other pests.
• Clean paths to prevent them from becoming slippery and repair sheds, fences and trellises.
• Avoid walking on lawns covered with frost.