It doesn't seem long ago that we were shedding winter clothes from last winter and here it is again. As the days shorten the fruit and vegetables planted last spring are now cropping in abundance and need to be harvested and stored away. This is one of the many tasks that need doing to ready the garden and house plants for the coming cold months. With just a little preparation and care they will reward you with beautiful fresh flowers next year. If you want fresh flowers indoors over the winter it is possible to buy flowers online that will thrive and flower indoors for most of the year.
For those of you with more vegetables than you can cope with from the vegetable patch, you can prepare them for use during the winter by parboiling and freezing them in usable quantities. Alternatively vegetables can be used to make pickles and chutneys that are always welcome accompaniments to meals. Excess fruit can also be used to make chutneys and jams or again frozen for use later on. Apples can be eaten well into the winter if stored in boxes of paper or sawdust and put in a cool dry place. Large amounts of tomatoes can be used to make jam if you have more than you can deal with.
There are plenty of jobs to do in the rest of the garden to protect your favourite plants from the ravages of frost and snow. These preparations, done now, will tidy the garden as well as reduce the amount of work needed in the spring. The weeds need to be removed from the beds along with any of the annuals that have finished flowering and are looking straggly. Lily and gladioli bulbs that will not survive the winter should be lifted and allowed to dry before being stored away for replanting next year. Make sure that your shrubs remain healthy by checking for evidence of disease and cutting only those leaves or sections out, as it is not the time for pruning. There should still be a few fresh flowers in the garden that can be cut and used in the house.
Take a careful look at your garden perennials, you will still need some interest in the garden even when it is cold, so those that have attractive foliage might be better left while the others are pruned back ready for the spring. Save some money by collecting the seeds from vegetables and your favourite plants, dry them and keep them in a cool place. The seeds can then be planted into pots in the spring ready for planting out later in the year. Or if you want to change the look of your garden you can buy flowers online or from a local nursery next year when the time comes for planting.
The plants that are staying in the garden will need some protection from the worst of the elements, though this should not be done too early as trapped moisture may encourage pests and disease. It is best to place several inches of mulch around the roots after the first frost. Patio pot plants can also be mulched to protect them, wrapping the pots in a protective layer such as bubble wrap will help protect ceramic pots from extreme temperatures as well as the plants themselves.
This is the time of year to look at the garden and decide where to plant next year's bulbs for fresh flowers in the spring. Bulbs that can be planted now include narcissi, hyacinth, daffodils, bluebells, snowdrops, cyclamen and crocuses. The sight of them will be perfect for lifting spirits after the dreary winter months. If you are pressed for time and not able to buy your bulbs now, you can buy flowers online in the spring, ready for planting in the garden or hanging baskets. Planting prepared hyacinth bulbs in pots or the vases made specifically for hyacinth bulbs and keeping them indoors will ensure that fresh flowers will be blooming in the house when the ground is frozen outside.
Hyacinths are not the only fresh flowers to thrive in centrally heated houses during the winter. Many people are discovering the beauty of exotic indoor tropical plants such as orchids. The reason orchids do so well is that they need a minimum temperature achieved in our houses. As orchids gain in popularity they are becoming more readily available and are easy to buy flowers online. Growing orchids is addictive and once you have one it is inevitable that you will start collecting the different colours and varieties of orchids.
Not all orchids are tropical orchids, few people realise that the British Isles have native orchids of their own, capable of withstanding the harsh winters of the Scottish highlands. Again, if you are looking to buy flowers online, look for varieties that can be grown in the garden, such as the Marsh Orchids, Hyacinth Orchids or the Lady's Slipper Orchids. What better way to help protect our native orchids, than to have them growing in the garden next year?
For those of you with more vegetables than you can cope with from the vegetable patch, you can prepare them for use during the winter by parboiling and freezing them in usable quantities. Alternatively vegetables can be used to make pickles and chutneys that are always welcome accompaniments to meals. Excess fruit can also be used to make chutneys and jams or again frozen for use later on. Apples can be eaten well into the winter if stored in boxes of paper or sawdust and put in a cool dry place. Large amounts of tomatoes can be used to make jam if you have more than you can deal with.
There are plenty of jobs to do in the rest of the garden to protect your favourite plants from the ravages of frost and snow. These preparations, done now, will tidy the garden as well as reduce the amount of work needed in the spring. The weeds need to be removed from the beds along with any of the annuals that have finished flowering and are looking straggly. Lily and gladioli bulbs that will not survive the winter should be lifted and allowed to dry before being stored away for replanting next year. Make sure that your shrubs remain healthy by checking for evidence of disease and cutting only those leaves or sections out, as it is not the time for pruning. There should still be a few fresh flowers in the garden that can be cut and used in the house.
Take a careful look at your garden perennials, you will still need some interest in the garden even when it is cold, so those that have attractive foliage might be better left while the others are pruned back ready for the spring. Save some money by collecting the seeds from vegetables and your favourite plants, dry them and keep them in a cool place. The seeds can then be planted into pots in the spring ready for planting out later in the year. Or if you want to change the look of your garden you can buy flowers online or from a local nursery next year when the time comes for planting.
The plants that are staying in the garden will need some protection from the worst of the elements, though this should not be done too early as trapped moisture may encourage pests and disease. It is best to place several inches of mulch around the roots after the first frost. Patio pot plants can also be mulched to protect them, wrapping the pots in a protective layer such as bubble wrap will help protect ceramic pots from extreme temperatures as well as the plants themselves.
This is the time of year to look at the garden and decide where to plant next year's bulbs for fresh flowers in the spring. Bulbs that can be planted now include narcissi, hyacinth, daffodils, bluebells, snowdrops, cyclamen and crocuses. The sight of them will be perfect for lifting spirits after the dreary winter months. If you are pressed for time and not able to buy your bulbs now, you can buy flowers online in the spring, ready for planting in the garden or hanging baskets. Planting prepared hyacinth bulbs in pots or the vases made specifically for hyacinth bulbs and keeping them indoors will ensure that fresh flowers will be blooming in the house when the ground is frozen outside.
Hyacinths are not the only fresh flowers to thrive in centrally heated houses during the winter. Many people are discovering the beauty of exotic indoor tropical plants such as orchids. The reason orchids do so well is that they need a minimum temperature achieved in our houses. As orchids gain in popularity they are becoming more readily available and are easy to buy flowers online. Growing orchids is addictive and once you have one it is inevitable that you will start collecting the different colours and varieties of orchids.
Not all orchids are tropical orchids, few people realise that the British Isles have native orchids of their own, capable of withstanding the harsh winters of the Scottish highlands. Again, if you are looking to buy flowers online, look for varieties that can be grown in the garden, such as the Marsh Orchids, Hyacinth Orchids or the Lady's Slipper Orchids. What better way to help protect our native orchids, than to have them growing in the garden next year?
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Want to find out more about helping your garden through the winter and learn about how to buy flowers online? visit Interflora