December Garden Jobs – What To Do This Month

December is here, the frosts are settling in, and while much of the garden is resting, there’s still plenty we can do to protect, plan, prune and plant. Here’s your December gardening checklist to keep everything ticking over — with a little festive flavour too. 🎄🌿

🌱 General Garden Jobs

• Move pots — especially terracotta — to a sheltered spot or indoors, and wrap in fleece, polythene or bubble wrap to protect from frost. Raise pots up on feet or bricks to help water drain away.
• Grow microgreens indoors 🌱 — perfect for fresh winter greens. Herbs can also be grown inside under a grow light.
• Plant bare-root roses now for strong establishment. 🌹
• Mulch around tender shrubs with compost, mulch or straw to protect from cold and feed soil life.
• Prune hedges while dormant ✂
• Check stored bulbs and corms regularly for mould or rot.
• Plant blackberries and other bare-root fruit.
• Prune apple, pear and currant bushes.
• Tie in raspberry & blackberry stems, weed beds, and mulch.
• Net winter veg crops 🥬 to stop birds helping themselves!
• Stake Brussels sprouts to prevent wind rock.
• Remove yellowing leaves from brassicas.
• Clear old veg crops — compost if healthy, bin if diseased.
• Drain hosepipes and irrigation systems, bring watering cans indoors to prevent freezing.
• Tidy the shed 🧹 — clean & repair tools ready for spring.
• Check trees are staked and secure for winter winds. 🌬
• Inspect plant supports and secure any climbers.

🌿 Greenhouse Jobs

• Check overwintering plants for pests and treat if needed.
• Water lightly — plants need less now.
• Ventilate on mild days to reduce mould.
• Add a max-min thermometer to monitor temperatures.
• Clean and sweep floors, remove debris.
• Check pots and trays for slugs & sneaky pests. 🐌
• Sort trays and pots — recycle or bin broken ones.
• If you sowed autumn sweet peas, pinch tips for bushy growth.

🎄 Festive Garden Bits

• Gather evergreens — holly, ivy, rosemary, bay — for wreaths & decorations.
• Force hyacinths or paperwhite narcissi for indoor scent.
• Gift seeds, bulbs, bare-root plants or garden tools — perfect presents for growers.
• Pot up amaryllis bulbs for festive flowers indoors.

🐾 Wildlife in Winter

• Leave seed heads & leaf piles for overwintering insects.
• Keep bird feeders topped up with high-energy seed & suet. 🐦
• Refresh birdbaths daily with unfrozen water.
• Break pond ice regularly for oxygen flow.
• Avoid disturbing hibernating wildlife.

☕ And Lastly…

Grab a warm cuppa, sit back and plan next year’s crops and flowers. Make a list of seeds and supplies — leave it somewhere visible and you might just find Santa has gardening taste too. 🎅🌷