What to do during Winter 

The Christmas Tree, many local civic 
amenity sites will now shred this difficult 
item for you. Take it there on the twelth 
night or the day after, get rid of it! You 
will also find that some garden centres 
offer this service, they will use it for 
compost and save you a great deal of 
heartache.

If your beloved wife has bought you a 
shredder for Christmas ( just what you 
always wanted) then do it yourself and 
use your shredded tree in your own garden. 
The one in the picture is growing very well 
in a pot one year on it should be in even 
better shape for Christmas 2006.

Digging

The golden rule here is to take it slowly, 
don't do it all at once! Take it easy ,
there is nothing worse after a hard days
digging than ending up in a bath of Radox
instead of in the Pub with a decent pint
of Courage Best. Pace yourself, use the
fork that suits the ground that you are
working on.

Every so often sit back and look at your
progress, don't go at it like a bull in a
china shop take your time. Think of it in
the same way as plants growing in your
garden, they offer you the most wonderful
different colours and flowers every season,
they certainly do not rush. Your careful
aerating and enabling the soil to drain will
pay off in the future. 

Just think after your digging, you will have
got rid of all those weeds that have been
bugging you for months, the Robin will have
been following you for days anxious to feed
on all the grubs you have exposed and all 
your hard work will pay off in future years. 
The more you prepare now the less that you 
will have to do in time to come. 

In the shed. 

Check that all you garden tools are in good
order. It is very possible that most of them
will be in need of a great deal of attention.

Arrange for your mower to be serviced and
the blades sharpened. You would do the same
for your car , would you not? 

Spades, forks, shears, trowels and other tools
also need the same treatment, there is nothing
better than sanding down and re-treating the
wooden handles of your most expensive good
quality tools to bring them back to tip-top
condition. Ready and willing to tackle the jobs
during the year ahead.