January : cold comforts

There is something very comforting, honest and straightforward about going down to the allotment after Christmas and pouring the veg waste onto the compost heap.

All those lists, names to remember and places to be in December, seem something to be done when you have lots of energy but not when you are on your knees running up to the 25th. I take my hat off to those saints doing all the hard work in kitchens across the country.

The start of longer days, the breaking through of the sunshine and the sticky, wet feel of soil bring a new sense of reality after all the festivities. Washing the soil off the leeks with ice-cold water from the water butt and watching the earthworms wriggling for cover to avoid the ever-present Robin helps take me out of my holiday fug.

Even when I get home I get a boost; the odour of freshly lifted leeks fill my kitchen. I can now just about face doing some more cooking and eating again.

Now is also the perfect time for several winter jobs:

• Prune Wisterias to create the framework that you want. Further pruning in July and August will be needed to reduce the density of the plant. Whilst the plant is dormant at this time of year you can cut back stems to the buds to take out crossed branches, branches that are going AWOL and branches that are too densely packed.
• Because trees are largely dormant too you can often do unto them what you couldn't normally do at other times; plant, move and prune. Leave the Magnolia, Cherry trees, Plums and Almonds but it is pretty much open season on everything else.
• Prune your apple trees but by no more than 20% in one winter. To quote the RHS: "The more you prune, the more foliage grows at the expense of fruit".
• Use planks to walk on when working on damp borders in order to avoid compressing the soil - literally, squeezing the life out of it.
• 'Native bare-root whips' is not an expression left over from our colonial days. It is a horticultural term used to describe small trees and shrubs sometimes just 45 cms tall with bare roots that are ready to plant out to create native hedges often seen around farm and parkland. Blackthorn, Dogwoods, Field Maple, Hazel, Willow and even Oak are often used in the mix. Being incredibly low-cost (under £1 a whip) they are very economical to plant out even with the need for plastic spirals as rabbit guards and a cane to keep them erect. There will be losses through the year but even so they will still form a robust, wildlife-friendly hedge that can be happily hacked back at virtually any time of year. (Avoid spring and summer when the birds are nesting and hatching). You could even try this in your garden. Now is the best time to buy and plant them; just make sure that the roots do not dry out by exposing them to wind and sunlight.

So now it's off to the kitchen to add the leeks to the chicken soup. They smell absolutely delicious which is not surprising as they belong to the onion family. As Cyril from the allotment informed me, you can always wrap them in newspaper and keep them somewhere cool and they will keep for days.

I won't tell you what he said about having to trail around the countryside just to keep his relatives happy and waiting for hours to find a seat at mealtimes. All I can say was that, in keeping with the allotments, it was, er, very rural, colourful vocabulary. 

December : deep freeze food

                       

One of the joys of having frosty, sunny days in December is seeing the tall grasses and seed heads back-lit by the sun. The illuminated cobwebs have extraordinary patterns. 

Whilst some grasses have become greatly over and badly used there are a huge variety to choose from. Some will come from dry, exposed steppes whilst others originate from damp, temperate climates. Naturally the steppe plants tend to be more drought tolerant and shorter and the damp tolerant ones are thicker stemmed and often taller. There is however something for every garden and every soil type. Understanding their natural habitat is the key to success.

Pruning them at the correct time of year makes a huge difference. The label or a good gardening book should tell you all you need to know. Don't do what I did last year and prune a short evergreen grass too early in the year. It took nine months to recover and still isn't quite right!

It is common gardening practice to cut back all herbaceous plants in autumn, but plants such as Sedum, Dipsacus (teasels) and Verbascum that have exposed seed heads are good news for wildlife. Shrubs such as Phlomis, Spirea and Berberis are some of the many bird convenience stores. The berries of course are irresistible to birds and at this time of year it is a question of who gets their first in suburbia; the birds or the Christmas wreath makers.

So when the ground is not frozen solid and you are not wistfully humming to yourself  "In the bleak mid-winter", there are a number of things to be done in December:

• Cover any outdoor taps with something to stop the frost penetrating. Traditionally hessian cloth is used but any thick plastic or old cloth will work.
• Fish can suffer if their pond is covered with thick ice. Whilst it is not very sightly, a football in a pond that can be safely plucked out or even better, some thick timber lifted out will create some clear space in the ice. 
• Some plants have very sappy branches that "bleed" heavily when pruned. Now is the time to prune your Vines, Birches and Acers as the sap will have stopped flowing.
• Prune apples and pears ( but not those growing against walls) bearing in mind the ground rules of cutting out dead, diseased and crossed branches and creating space for light and air circulation. Further pruning will be necessary in the growing season to produce the best results.
• Stay off lawns in frosty conditions as it damages the structure of the grass. Getting the last of the leaves off the lawn will make for healthier lawn.
• Everyone will be hungry at this time of year including little furry creatures. If there is anything edible in your shed or greenhouse then make sure it is well sealed.

And why not give your local bird life a treat with some fat balls or other high protein winter feed? 

After all, they will not be the only ones swaying around near food at Christmas and checking out what is on offer.