Arthur's top tips

• Plant tulip bulbs now to prevent Tulip Fire infection.
• Plant up a terracotta pot of hyacinth bulbs for a simple but stunning display next spring.
• Before the birds eat them all, cut a few stems of holly with berries for making Christmas garlands. Stand them in a bucket of water in a sheltered spot where our feathered friends can't take them.
• Clean out the greenhouse thoroughly. Wash the glass, the floor and the staging with horticultural disinfectant to kill any overwintering pests and diseases.
• If you haven't already aerated your lawn, there's still time to do it before winter sets in. You can use either a lawn aerator or simply insert a garden fork at regular intervals and lean it back slightly to let air in.
• Continue to clear fallen leaves off the lawn to keep it healthy.
• Keep on top of weeds while they are still in active growth. Dig over the soil on a dry day when the ground is not too wet. Mix in plenty of organic matter such as some compost or manure
• Prune pear and apple trees anytime between now and February. But don't be tempted to prune your plum trees now as they will be susceptible to the silver leaf fungus - wait until midsummer.
• Cut down chrysanthemums to soil level after flowering
• Remove pond pumps and filters, wash and store away
• Plant new fruit bushes and cane fruits
• Cut down Jerusalem artichokes then dig up and store tubers in buckets of dry compost
• Prune side shoots on gooseberries back to about 5cm

Did you ever wonder why plants have their own unique scent or why they have red flowers or white flowers?  You would be forgiven for saying I have a sad life! But you would be mistaken if you assumed plant colour or scent happened by chance.  Everything in nature is highly organized and plants have evolved in their own distinctive ways of ensuring their survival.  Most plants must attract insects and bees to transfer pollen from one plant to another.  Some use bright colours others use scent and some feed their pollinators. This is all very interesting but what does this mean to us gardeners!  Plants that flower in winter when insects and bees are not abundant have to do something a little bit more special so they tend to produce highly scented flowers which is as attractive to insects as it is to us.  Everybody likes scent in the garden and the following winter flowering shrubs are among the best at doing so.  As well as having good scent they are usually very bright colours and stay in flower for months on end.  Mahonia Charity or Winter Sun will shortly be in flower with its long racemes of highly scented golden yellow.  It’s quite easy to grow and thrives in light shade.  Viburnum bod. Dawn which flowers throughout the winter on bare branches is also a favourite.  Jasminum nudiflorum makes an excellent climber with its yellow flowers all winter.  Daphne in all its varieties is sought after for its scent.  The dwarf evergreen variety called Daphne retusa is one of my favourites.  Sarcococca humilis (Christmas Box) is a worthy choice.  It’s a multi tasker, been evergreen, low growing  2-3 feet with the most fantastic  scent in winter, is an excellent groundcover plant, makes a stunning low hedge, a good choice for a winter patio container, will grow in sun or shade, is quite hardy and inexpensive, what more can you ask for?  By the way it smells like hyacinth and branches taken off the plant brought indoors to use in flower arrangement will continue to fill a room with scent.

Anybody who has ever grown a pot of hyacinths will testify to the strength of their scent.  It’s so easy, plant a handful of bulbs in a pot now, put in a dark cool spot for 3 weeks, thereafter leave them on the windowsill where they will develop and reward you in mid winter with flower and  scent for as  little as €3.  Nature takes advantage of the shortening days, it would be remiss of us not to partake.

Winter can be a tough time for garden wildlife. In winter, wild animals and insects hunker down in log and leaf piles, nestle into tree bark, or bury themselves in compost heaps or mud. We all feel like hibernating in the winter however,  some species such as birds and squirrels, don't hibernate, but struggle to stay alive - using up fat reserves just to stay warm. Birds are more likely to visit gardens in autumn and winter, as they rely on bird feeders when their natural sources of insects and grubs dry up. Birds need calorie-rich suet, sunflower hearts and peanuts to maintain fat reserves on frosty nights. Our gardens our becoming increasingly important places for wild animals and especially birds. By providing a regular supply of food and water, we can help birds survive the challenging winter months. If you haven’t already done so clean out any used nesting boxes as many birds will use them as shelter over the coming months.  Birds can be quite choosey so the type of food you leave out will determine the species in your garden.  Robins are ground feeders and they don’t like bird feeders, they like mixed grain, just sprinkle a bit along by a hedge or shrub bed.  Sparrows, blue tits and finches love peanut feeders.  Goldfinches are quite fussy and they will only come into your garden in any number if you hang up a feeder with a niger feed, this is a very fine seed so you need to use a feeder with very small holes, well worth doing as goldfinches are the most highly coloured species in Ireland.  If you have a problem with larger birds stealing all the food, you can use feeders with a protective mesh which only allows the smaller birds to feed.  Fat balls are a very good source of energy and if hung from very light twigs will only be accessible to the smaller birds.  If you don’t have a tree near a window to observe you can now get feeding stations that you can just strike down in the lawn outside your kitchen window.  A lovely idea as a Christmas gift. Remember if you start feeding birds in your garden it is important to continue doing so until spring as birds become dependent very quickly.

• Winter prune apple trees and give them their first Winterwash of the season
• Repair and treat fencing and timber structures while climbing plants are dormant
• Bring all watering equipment indoors, including hoses and sprinklers
• Scoop fallen leaves and rotting plant debris from ponds
• Rake up fallen leaves that could be sheltering slugs
• Net cabbages and other brassicas to protect them from pigeon damage
• Trim autumn-flowering heathers
• Collect fallen rose leaves that could carry diseases over to next season and plant new roses
• Start to winter-prune your Wisteria, cutting back summer side-shoots to 2 or 3 buds.
• Prune climbing roses now; cutting away diseased or damaged growth and tying in any new shoots to their support. Prune older flowered side shoots back by two-thirds of their length.
• Plant up winter containers with hardy cyclamen, ivy, skimmia and evergreen grasses such as carex to add colour to your garden. Place them in prominent places beside entrances and well used paths to enjoy their winter display.
• Plant some shrubs for winter interest.  Sarcoccoca confusa adds colour and fragrance to your garden at this   time of year.
• If you still haven't planted your tulip bulbs there is still time, provided the ground isn't frozen.

Bring your Garden in from the cold.   

A screen that protects your house from the cold is akin to wearing a wool hat on a cold day.  The screen you use around your house needs careful consideration, the type of plant you use, your location and your practical requirements will determine your choice of plants.  Ask yourself the following questions, am I looking for privacy, if this is the case, it needs to be 5-6 feet high.  Do I want a formal clipped hedge, remember that this requires a lot of work and if maintenance is not carried out, fast growing varieties can get out of hand very quickly and can cause you and your neighbours a lot of problems.  The advantage of fast growing varieties is that they are usually cheaper simply because it doesn’t take so long in the nursery to produce them.  Slow growing plants can be more expensive but in the long run maybe more cost effective as they don’t need so much clipping.  As I write this I am looking out on an informal hedge of holly covered in berries at 8 feet high, it has taken 10 years but the advantages were worth waiting for.  It is extremely hardy as I live on a very exposed site, no clipping, loads of winter berries for me to enjoy and the birds.  It makes a perfect backdrop for most planting and if you live in an area where noise is a problem holly is considered the best choice.  The density and shape of leaf seems to absorb noise.  Anybody in the Mullingar area who wants to see a glorious beech hedge should visit Belvedere but the beauty of beech is everywhere to be seen at the moment, not the fastest hedge to grow but if planted properly in any reasonable soil (it does not like wet) and kept weed free which is most important 18” each side of the young plants and fed in spring and again in august, you should have a spectacular 6 feet high hedge in 4 years.  To help keep the russet leaves on beech throughout the winter the hedge should be trimmed in august.   On very wet or heavy soil use hormbeam, it will thrive where others will fail.  Laurel is a very popular hedging plant that can be kept trimmed to a reasonable height, grows quite quickly is very hardy and evergreen.  Yew makes a beautiful hedge and should be planted much more and is the perfect choice on a dry sandy site.  It is extremely hardy and if you want to attract thrushes to your garden, the berry it produces is their favourite food. 

• Check variegated shrubs for plain green shoots and prune them away
• Check stakes and ties are secure on trees and climbers
• Continue planting trees and shrubs, the ground is at its warmest
• The bare rooted season will start next week, it’s the ideal time to plant beech, prepare the ground and spray off any weeds now
• Apples which you intend to store should be picked now before they are fully ripe on a dry day
• Apples were traditionally stored in boxes wrapped in paper, you can also put 7 or 8 pounds of fruit in a plastic bag, put a few slits in the bag and your fruit will store perfectly, blemished fruit will not store
• Cut back roses, floribundas and hybrid teas by half, shrub roses by one third, climbers tidy up and tie in, they will look better and prevents wind rock which causes suckers
• Accumulations of leaves on heather beds and lawns are to be avoided
• Sad front door pots could do with a winter makeover, remember to change your compost to prevent diseases
• Plant your tulips now, taking care to add grit for drainage.
• Check forced hyacinths for water
• Check heaters are working properly in your greenhouse
• Clear out old crops and growing bags, adding material to the compost heap

Trees and shrubs with attractive bark will now take centre stage.  You will find that trees with weeping branches against the diminishing light of late autumn take on an architectural beauty.  One of my favourites is a weeping beech, a mature specimen is unsurpassable, I’m afraid not for the small garden though, but you can get a smaller variety called Purple Fountain, an excellent tree especially where space is limited.  Weeping birch with its white bark is well worth planting.  Betula jacquemontii (Himalayan Birch) with its creamy white bark that peels & flakes with age is one of the most popular trees in Europe and you can see why.  Another beauty is Acer Griseum, having just shed its glorious autumn foliage  revealing a ruffled chocolate mahogany bark is worth seeking out, as is the coral barked maple (Acer Sanko-kaku) which deepens its coral red colour as winter progresses, under planted with snowdrops, it’s a January treat.  Salix Aucutifolia with its blue black branches covered in winter catkins should be planted more often especially in a wet garden where it will thrive. Parrotia persica (Ironwood) is prized for its autumn foliage but it also produces the most distinctive multi-coloured striped bark.  Not the easiest plant to come across and it takes a number of years to reveal its beauty but I think it’s well worth waiting for.  The dogwoods as they are known with their yellow and red bark are so easy to grow and give a good winter display when mass planted.  The variety called Cornus alba Siberica is the most intense red, they all will grow in very poor soil even wet.  In fact if they weren’t so easy to grow they would be more sought after.  The planting season is in full swing, there’s nothing like a good bark to brighten up the winter!