It’s the beginning of a new year and as we get into January many of us will be starting out with new missions to lose weight, go vegan, stop drinking alcohol, finally decorate the bathroom, book a holiday, and lots more things to plan and look forward to in the new year ahead.
For us gardeners here at CJGs we like to see the dawning of a new year as a good opportunity to take stock of our gardens and grounds, examine what new projects we might have in store, and think about what jobs need tackling ready for Spring.
Whether you’re planning a total garden redesign, or just want to spruce up your bedding plants, we think it’s a good idea to make some gardening resolutions and so we thought we'd to share some ideas that you could adopt to make some positive changes to your gardens or grounds.
1. Encourage wildlife into the garden
Encouraging wildlife into your gardens can be really rewarding and will help to bring your garden to life. Lots of garden wildlife such as birds, insects and hedgehogs can be incredibly beneficial to a garden by reducing thespread of weed seeds, pollinating your plants and keeping garden pests such asslugs under control.
The best way to encourage wildlife to visit, is by providing either food or shelter – or both! A simple bird feeder will go a long way to helping small garden birds, especially during colder months when their usual food sources are depleted.
When the weather starts to warm again, hedgehogs will be coming out of hibernation, so you could put a little cat food out for them to help boosttheir energy levels. Fresh water for both birds and hedgehogs is always a great way to encourage them in too.
Insects are so important to our fragile ecosystem, so constructing an insect hotel for insects such as solitary bees and ladybirds to use is a wonderfulway to help out also.
2. Start growing vegetables
You don't need a huge garden to grow your own veggies, you can actually successfully grow them in beds and borders, or even in containers on balconies.
Salad veggies such as lettuce, tomatoes, beetroot and radishes are great because they don’t need deep soil and so can thrive in pots. Potatoes are also really easy and can even be grown in an old dustbin!
There’s nothing quite like eating food that you’ve grown yourself 😊
3. Start composting
A compost heap or bin is great because it recycles more of your waste, improves your garden soil, and reduces your contribution to landfill all in one.
Having a compost heap makes you greener all round, and you’ll be surprised at all the different things you can put in there that would normally go in your general waste.
Things that can be composted include vegetable peelings and offcuts, coffee grounds and garden waste.
4. Plant a tree
Planting a tree and watching it grow through the years can be such a pleasure, especially if you have small children, you can watch it grow alongside them.
Make sure you choose the right tree for your garden and be mindful of how large it will grow and the space that you have available.
For smaller gardens an acer or sorbus is a good choice, you can even fan-train fruit trees such as apple and pear against a wall – this is a great space-saving option that will also give you a chance to harvest your own fruitin the autumn.
And remember, if you make just one gardening New Year’s resolution this year, make sure you find a little more time to just enjoy your garden.
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