For some, December appears to be a rather gloomy month for the gardener, although there are plenty of jobs that can still be done, particularly in preparation for the coming year.
One such job is planning for your vegetable plot and this is certainly a nice time to leaf through seed catalogues and to start ordering those little packets of magic, ahead of next season. If vegetables aren't your thing, well, there's all kinds of annuals, perennials, herbs and shrubs that can easily be grown from seed and will shoot up to give you're garden colour and structure sooner than you would probably imagine.
Many vegetable seeds such as certain varieties of Broad Bean or Onion can even be started now.
With the help of a propagator, either heated or placed on a warm windowsill, many tomatoes and pepper seeds can be sown as early as February to ensure they get off to a good start, whilst providing them with a long growing season to reach maturity in late summer/early autumn.
For the flower lovers, sweet peas are a gardener's favourite and seeds benefit from being sown as early as January to give them a head start and provide strong plants later in the season. Lobelia is another lovely annual, that is often used in container displays and rock-gardens and can be sown from January to March to provide you with blue, pink or white cascades of colour later that summer.
So whether you are keen to “Grow Your Own” vegetables and herbs or just looking for in inexpensive way to add colour to your garden next year, now is a good time to start ordering your seeds for 2021.
For the keen gardener champing at the bit to get started early in the year, seeds also make a great Christmas gift too.
At Ardcarne Garden Centre we have a wide selection of vegetable and flower seeds available and regularly add to our catalogue. So why not browse our selection and be inspired to grow a few plants of your own, whether it's in your veg plot or a plant pot and remember, if you need any advice our staff are always available to help.
You can find our Seed Catalogue here >>>
