A new month is upon us and after all of the chaos of Christmas and New Year, it’s back to reality and time to get the garden into shape. January can be a challenging month in the garden due to the unpredictable weather conditions, but there are a number of tasks that you can get to work on both in the garden and greenhouse, that are essential during the month of January.
Garden Maintenance
There are lots of different tasks to carry out in the garden to maintain the quality and health of the area and January is the best time to get started on these tasks.
- Check your fencing, gates and other wooden structures to ensure no damage has been caused from strong weather conditions. You often find that fencing panels can become loose or damaged, causing you to lose privacy and make your garden less secure.
- Remove any fallen leaves that have gathered in piles around the garden but be careful of wildlife that could be hibernating in there. Clear all moss, algae and general dirt from decking, patios and other surfaces to create a cleaner and safer environment.
- Stock up on essential gardening equipment from garden centres or online at Two Wests and other gardening products to see you through the next few months of gardening tasks.
- Trim back your hedges, bushes and the edging of your lawn to ensure the space looks neat and tidy. This will help to prevent overgrown greenery when the warmer weather arrives.
Wildlife Considerations
During the winter, you often find that wildlife makes a frequent appearance in your garden. From hedgehogs and squirrels to a number of different birds, wildlife will visit your garden for a place to rest, eat and so on. It’s really beneficial to be aware of the wildlife that could visit your garden and prepare to care for them the best way you can.
- Introduce new bird tables and feeders to encourage wildlife to visit your garden time and time again.
- Ensure any existing bird tables or feeders are clean and fresh. You don’t want to leave food in dirty, mossy trays or dishes as this could cause infection or simply deter wildlife from eating the food you’ve provided.
- Be cautious when carrying out gardening tasks to not destroy any habitats that wildlife has created during the last month or so. It’s really important to do thorough checks before making any changes to ensure you’re not going to scare or hurt any wildlife.
Greenhouse Tasks
Moving into the greenhouse, there are more tasks that can be undertaken through January as you don’t have to worry about weather conditions as a restriction. The greenhouse is a space that you can utilise and use all year around, so you’ll probably find that your overall maintenance of the greenhouse is good and running smoothly.
- Give the greenhouse a general tidy up to ensure it’s in a good condition for upcoming projects that you plan to carry out.
- Prepare the greenhouse environment for the spring months, improve the ventilation and heating so that you can work around the change in weather and temperature.
