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Cut Flowers from Marks and Spencer

 

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Reference Sites

BBC Gardening

BBC Pest Finder

Gardeners World Magazine

BBC's Gardeners World

Royal Horticultural Society

 

 

Our Plant of the Month

Hamamelis (Witch Hazel)

 

Hamamelis - Witch Hazel

 

One of the most spectacular plants in January is Hamamelis or Witch Hazel with the added bonus of brightly coloured leaves during the Autumn. The delicious scent from the spidery flowers is lovely at this time of year; bring a few flowering branches indoors to enjoy them all day long. The flower colours vary from bright yellow, through orange to a deep orange red, they appear in clusters along the bare branches during the winter and remain until the leaves arrive in the Spring. The Witch Hazel is a woodland plant and very low maintenance.

 

Crocus.co.uk are currently offering four varieties of Hamamelis, one of which is their plant of the month, click on the pictures for more information:

 

Hamamelis

mollis

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Pallida'

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena'

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Diane'

 

 

The RSPB recommend feeding birds throughout the year but this is a most important time to ensure that your precious garden birds get through the winter

Here are the RSPB’s Top Tips for attracting birds to your garden:

  • Put out high protein seed mixes & kitchen scraps

  • Put out hanging feeders containing black sunflower seeds, sunflower hearts, sunflower-rich mixes or unsalted peanuts

  • Ensure a supply of fresh water every day

  • Supply apples and pears for blackbirds and thrushes

  • Fat blocks rubbed into the bark of trees is a great help for treecreepers, goldcrests and others

  • Put up nest boxes to provide roost sites for the smaller birds. They will then be used for breeding later in the year.

  • Plant berry-bearing plants such as hawthorn, rowan, holly, cotoneaster and berberis

  • Leave wild, weedy or shrubby areas in the garden to provide a natural seed and insect source

  • Feed live foods such as mealworms and waxworms

If you are new to bird feeding, click here to find out more

 

 

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This Month's Choice plants from Crocus.co.uk

"At this time of year heavy frosts can lie on the garden like a generous layer of icing, and I think this makes the garden look quite magical. When things appear in monochrome like this, the shapes and forms that make up the garden become more pronounced. Broad expanses of frosted lawn can look like a glistening shaggy carpet, while the stark silhouettes of bare stems can look incredible against a wintry skyline. Evergreen shrubs too, especially those with bold, architectural foliage or topiary shapes play an important role in the garden now, and if you get the balance right, the overall effect can really be quite enchanting." Helen, plant doctor and designer.

Click the photos for more information.

Helleborus niger

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Diane'

Sarcococca confusa

Corylus avellana 'Contorta'

Carex oshimensis 'Evergold'

Polypodium vulgare

Photographs courtesy of Crocus.co.uk

 

 

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The Gardening Year

Types of Plants

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Watering your Garden

Winter Garden Maintenance

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Gardening Advice Online and Easy to Follow Gardening Articles