What to do in the garden in December:

It’s nearly Christmas and we’re in holiday mode! Time to get outside and pick festive greenery for wreaths and decorations. While you’re out there, there are a few more jobs you can be getting on with too:

General tasks:

• Cover empty soil with clear polythene to warm the soil and keep it workable
• Cover compost bins with cardboard to prevent all the goodness being leached away by winter rains

Ornamental garden:

• Wrap containers in hessian or bubble wrap to protect them from frost damage
• Prune ornamental vines while sap is low, taking back side stems to two or three buds
• Bring Christmas bulbs indoors as soon as they show green shoots, ready for flowering by Christmas Day

Kitchen garden:

• Heel in leeks by the back door so they’re easy to dig up even in frosty weather. Dig a trench, pack the leeks in and backfill with soil.
• Cut out the tops of Brussels sprout plants for a delicious extra crop of cabbagey sprout tops and to encourage remaining sprouts to mature
• Wash coldframe glass and cloches, and give the greenhouse a rinse: you’ll get rid of the buildup of green algae and let in plenty of light ready for spring sowing