January Update

Happy New Year – We hope you all had a great Christmas. Did you get everything you wanted? Like a water butt, electronic heated propagator or a HTA gift voucher?
This time every year it’s important to take a fresh look at your garden and observe the areas in the garden which are lacking in colour.

Visit us at Hope Valley Garden Centre for inspiration and to see what’s available to plug the gaps … you will be surprised how much there is at this time of year. 

Also come and look at our extensive range of bird and wildlife food.  It is important to remember our garden friends in the cold months. 

General Garden Maintenance

• Recycle your Christmas tree, contact your local council for recycle schemes
• Spread a thick layer multi-purpose compost around newly planted trees, shrubs or hedges as this will keep out frost that will kill young roots.
• Clear away old leaves in borders before spring bulbs start to appear.
• Dig over gaps in borders and remove old flower spikes from herbaceous borders.
• Top up bird baths with fresh water and de-frost with warm water on frosty days.
• Check on bird feeders to see if they are getting empty, fill with high energy feeds for winter, such as sunflower hearts, peanuts and suet.

In the Allotment or Vegetable Patch

• Keep harvesting root vegetable including parsnips and leeks.
• Prepare ground ready for onion, shallot sets and seed potatoes. Potatoes are now in stock and Onions and Garlic will be arriving in the next week. We will also be receiving our summer flowering bulbs such a dahlias, agapanthus and nerines.
• Cover rhubarb clumps with a forcer for early stems.
• Prune red and white currant bushes, shortening side shoots to a single bud.
• Put newly potted strawberry plants under the protection of cloches or in a greenhouse for early crops.
• Prune apple and pear trees for congested, badly damaged or diseased branch’s, seal cuts with a suitable pruning compound.
• Cut down autumn-fruiting raspberry canes to soil level.

In the Greenhouse

• Sterilise staging and frames with a garden disinfectant – don’t do this when there’s a chance of frost.
• Many varieties of herbs can be sown now – we have a great selection of vegetable and flowering seeds from our new seed supplier Fothergills.
• Check any tender over-wintering plants stored in the greenhouse of greenfly and other pests.
• Start to water sparingly tender fuchsias (weather permitting)

Winter Fuel

Even though the days are getting longer, it is still cold. There's a comfort in knowing that a well-stocked supply of fuel stands ready to protect you against the biting cold that lies ahead.

We have kindling, hardwood and softwood logs in store. Also available are bags of coal. 

Don’t forget to feed the birds!

Now the weather has taken a dramatic turn, it’s time to start thinking about the wild birds in our outdoor spaces.

It’s the ideal time to start feeding the birds and putting nest boxes up too. The birds need some time to feel safe going to new nest boxes and feeders so don’t feel disheartened if they don’t use them straight away.

Fat balls are the ideal feed this time of year as the birds needs to start putting weight on for the winter months when there is a reduced amount of natural food around.

As for bird boxes it’s worth watching what birds are in your area as different birds like different nest boxes, some like big open fronted boxes while others prefer enclosed boxes with a small entrance so it’s well worth seeing what’s right for you.