Terry Walton is lifting chrysanths on his plot
...so it’s time to make seasonal decorations and lift chrysanths
Tis the season to be jolly and I can make a start on my seasonal decorations. I use some of the stalwarts of the garden to decorate our home – and what better than to ‘deck our halls with boughs of holly’!
Mistletoe also seems to be in abundance after a very good summer. This parasitic plant has formed huge clumps in trees, rich in those delicate, translucent berries. Go on get some – who knows, that kiss under the bunch may rekindle the romance in your life! Seasonable plants are there to be harvested now but don’t slaughter them. Prune only what you need because they’re vital food for our feathered friends. December 21 signals the shortest day and then soon the light will be extending again as we march into a new and exciting year. It’s time to lift and bring chrysanthemums stools indoors, much later than normal, before the cold of winter sets in. Despite a few sharp frosts, these have continued to bloom and supply bunches of beautiful blooms. Armed with scissors, secateurs and fork, the first job is to remove the label that identifies each one and place this in the pot that will house that variety. Cut the old foliage from its supporting cane and slip out the cane before using the secateurs to snip off old foliage at just above ground level. Using the fork, lift the stool from the soil and place it in its pot with an identifying label. The old foliage can be stacked to dry out and later in the winter it can be burnt as it’s very woody. These pots are then taken to the greenhouse and excess soil removed before potting them in fresh compost and sticking the label back in. They’re placed on the staging and watered lightly. Wait until new shoots appear before snipping them off to supply next year’s new plants.
With most of the leaves off the trees and birds not nesting, I can trim the trees at the bottom of the plot. These make too much shade if they grow too thick. Using loppers I thin the branches to allow light through and at the same time provide myself with twiggy supports for next year’s peas.
The compost heap that was under my pumpkin is back! There’s not much waste material coming off the plot so it can be covered with a black plastic sheet to help it heat up.