JOBS for the week
Viburnum davidii is so widely planted we forget its beauty
Also producing berries in the pink-to-purple colour range is Gaultheria mucronata. Related to the heather family, it needs lime-free soil to flourish and will look wonderful planted among relations such as winter-flowering heathers.
Seaside dwellers will be familiar with the sea buckthorn, the hardto-pronounce Hippophae rhamnoides. This is a great windbreak plant for coastal locations – it is thorny with narrow silvery leaves and glowing orange berries – the silver and orange make a striking combination.
Viburnum davidii is so widely planted that we sometimes forget to appreciate its beauty. It has deeply-veined evergreen leaves and where several shrubs are gathered, they will produce vivid blue berries in winter.
If you want to propagate from berries, you need to pick them when they are completely ripe, so when you squeeze them they are soft.
Collect and mash them through a sieve – a household one is fine – so that the pulp goes through and you are left with the seed inside. Sow in gritty compost, covering seeds lightly and leave outside to germinate.
Some may need more than one cold season to get going, so be patient!
■ Jobs this time of the year are very weather dependent. If you’ve had flooding, you’re probably best off indoors as pathways are slippery and soil shouldn’t be worked on when sodden.
■ However, if you’re itching for gardening work, then it’s time for apple and pear pruning. Cherries and plums shouldn’t be touched during winter as this will leave them vulnerable to silver leaf fungus. Apply grease bands to the trunks to stop overwintering moths climbing up and laying their eggs.
■ With temperatures plummeting, make sure your tender plants are either wrapped up or indoors.
■ Continue to rake fallen leaves off the lawn and out of the pond – and on to the compost heap.
■ Harvest leeks, parsnips, winter cabbages and sprouts, and enjoy home-grown produce on Christmas Day.
■ Go foraging in your garden for attractive greenery, berries and branches that can be kept fresh in a bucket of water or sprayed silver, gold or white for Christmas decorations, wreaths and gifts.