Top 10 Things to Do in the Garden in December
Summer is here, which means lots of outdoor play time and alfresco entertaining. Is your garden ready for action?
Eating, drinking and chilling outside is what summer is all about. Make that experience a lot more enjoyable by freshening up outdoor spaces and giving your plants plenty of food and water so they look lush and healthy during the hot days ahead. And, if you’re going away for Christmas don’t forget to check irrigation systems and top up mulches to keep your garden in good condition while you’re away. Here are our top 10 tips for a happy and harmonious garden during December.
2. Plant up some containers
Potting up flowering annuals and shrubs is a never-fail method of smartening up the garden. Try easy care annuals such as petunias, alyssum, lobelia, geraniums, impatiens or calendula.
Choosing the same type of pot, plant and flower colour gives a more contemporary look. All white gives a fresh, calm appearance while red will create a colourful yuletide atmosphere. Freshen up containers by removing mould from the outside, weeding and adding new compost to the top of the soil.
A Beginner’s Guide to Container Gardening
Potting up flowering annuals and shrubs is a never-fail method of smartening up the garden. Try easy care annuals such as petunias, alyssum, lobelia, geraniums, impatiens or calendula.
Choosing the same type of pot, plant and flower colour gives a more contemporary look. All white gives a fresh, calm appearance while red will create a colourful yuletide atmosphere. Freshen up containers by removing mould from the outside, weeding and adding new compost to the top of the soil.
A Beginner’s Guide to Container Gardening
3. Feed your plants
December is peak growing time for most plants and they therefore need to keep replenishing their energy levels. Liquid feed flowering climbers, perennials and shrubs such as clematis, dahlias, day lilies, delphinium, hydrangeas, roses, and lilies every two to three weeks to encourage plenty of blooms.
Alyssum, aster, calendula, marigolds, godetia, petunias, sweet peas and other summer-flowering annuals also need to be fed regularly to put on a lovely display.
December is peak growing time for most plants and they therefore need to keep replenishing their energy levels. Liquid feed flowering climbers, perennials and shrubs such as clematis, dahlias, day lilies, delphinium, hydrangeas, roses, and lilies every two to three weeks to encourage plenty of blooms.
Alyssum, aster, calendula, marigolds, godetia, petunias, sweet peas and other summer-flowering annuals also need to be fed regularly to put on a lovely display.
4. Add perfume to the garden
There’s nothing like scent in the garden when you’re outside entertaining friends and family. Think about treating yourself to an early Christmas and buying a few perfumed plants such as gardenia, frangipani, star jasmine, stephanotis or stock. These can be left in pots and tucked among the foliage near your deck or terrace then moved further out into the garden after the festive season.
Top 10 Scented Plants for Your Garden
There’s nothing like scent in the garden when you’re outside entertaining friends and family. Think about treating yourself to an early Christmas and buying a few perfumed plants such as gardenia, frangipani, star jasmine, stephanotis or stock. These can be left in pots and tucked among the foliage near your deck or terrace then moved further out into the garden after the festive season.
Top 10 Scented Plants for Your Garden
5. Clip topiary
Flowers not your thing? Clipped evergreen shrubs can make just as much impact. Think buxus, corokia, coprosma, lonicera, hebe or dwarf pittosporum. Impress your guests with a row of clipped balls or cones on the deck, or down a flight of stairs into the garden. If you prefer your foliage brighter, consider grey-leaved westringia, chocolate Corokias, silver teucrium or coloured Coprosmas.
Flowers not your thing? Clipped evergreen shrubs can make just as much impact. Think buxus, corokia, coprosma, lonicera, hebe or dwarf pittosporum. Impress your guests with a row of clipped balls or cones on the deck, or down a flight of stairs into the garden. If you prefer your foliage brighter, consider grey-leaved westringia, chocolate Corokias, silver teucrium or coloured Coprosmas.
6. Trim and feed hedges
If you haven’t already given your hedges their spring trim, give them a clip now. A good nitrogen-based liquid feed and plenty of water during the hotter months will keep plants healthy and help prevent diseases.
Browse more images of gorgeous garden hedges
If you haven’t already given your hedges their spring trim, give them a clip now. A good nitrogen-based liquid feed and plenty of water during the hotter months will keep plants healthy and help prevent diseases.
Browse more images of gorgeous garden hedges
7. Check watering systems
Automatic irrigation systems need regular maintenance checks to make sure hoses aren’t leaking and spray fittings aren’t blocked. This is particularly crucial in December when they’ll be starting to work hard or if you’re planning a Christmas break.
Automatic irrigation systems need regular maintenance checks to make sure hoses aren’t leaking and spray fittings aren’t blocked. This is particularly crucial in December when they’ll be starting to work hard or if you’re planning a Christmas break.
8. Move containers to the shade
Grouping container plants together in one shaded area of the garden makes them easier to water during the warm months, whether you use a hose or an automatic irrigation system. Add water crystals to potting mix to stop it drying out too quickly.
If you’re planning a long break and don’t have an automatic watering system, ask a kind neighbour to give your plants a drink every few days as containers can dry out very quickly during summer. Drought- tolerant plants such as succulents are a good idea in hot areas, but even these will need some water (and possibly shade during the middle of the day).
Grouping container plants together in one shaded area of the garden makes them easier to water during the warm months, whether you use a hose or an automatic irrigation system. Add water crystals to potting mix to stop it drying out too quickly.
If you’re planning a long break and don’t have an automatic watering system, ask a kind neighbour to give your plants a drink every few days as containers can dry out very quickly during summer. Drought- tolerant plants such as succulents are a good idea in hot areas, but even these will need some water (and possibly shade during the middle of the day).
9. Top up mulches
Avoid wasting that precious water through evaporation by covering all garden beds with a good thick (10 to 15 centimetres) layer of organic mulch, such as shredded garden clippings, bark or pea straw. This will help retain moisture in the soil, improve its texture and of course reduce weeds. Mulches also give gardens a unified look.
Avoid wasting that precious water through evaporation by covering all garden beds with a good thick (10 to 15 centimetres) layer of organic mulch, such as shredded garden clippings, bark or pea straw. This will help retain moisture in the soil, improve its texture and of course reduce weeds. Mulches also give gardens a unified look.
10. Give lawns some TLC
Feeding your lawns now will ensure they remain in tip-top shape for summer. Remove broad-leaf weeds like dock and fill gaps with a mix of grass seed and garden mix. Trim edges for a neat, crisp look and raise the blades of your lawnmower to keep lawns lush and green. This will also help protect grass roots from drying out.
Tell us
What other garden-related jobs do you do in December? Tell us below in the Comments, save this story and save your favourite images. Join the conversation.
More
Need expert advice to get your garden looking sensational for summer? Find a local garden professional on Houzz.
Feeding your lawns now will ensure they remain in tip-top shape for summer. Remove broad-leaf weeds like dock and fill gaps with a mix of grass seed and garden mix. Trim edges for a neat, crisp look and raise the blades of your lawnmower to keep lawns lush and green. This will also help protect grass roots from drying out.
Tell us
What other garden-related jobs do you do in December? Tell us below in the Comments, save this story and save your favourite images. Join the conversation.
More
Need expert advice to get your garden looking sensational for summer? Find a local garden professional on Houzz.
To make sure your garden is looking gorgeous for the festive season, clean paving and timber structures with a waterblaster or hard broom and refresh your outdoor timber furniture. Scruffy shrubs, climbers and perennials should be trimmed and tidied, removing dead leaves and branches. It’s amazing the difference just this one task will make to your garden. If you’re short on time offer teenagers (yours or the neighbours’) some holiday money if they do some weeding and pruning for you.