As December arrives, the garden enters a quiet phase, but there are still essential tasks to keep it healthy and ready for spring. This month offers the perfect opportunity to complete some important December gardening jobs, and Kent & Stowe tools are the ideal companions to make the work easier, more efficient, and enjoyable. 

 

 

Tidy Up the Garden Beds

 

December is an excellent time to tidy your garden beds, removing dead leaves, spent flowers, and debris. This helps prevent diseases and pests from overwintering.

 

Kent & Stowe’s CapabilityTrowel and Hand Fork are perfectly designed for working around plants and loosening soil with ease. The durable stainless steel make them rust resistant, ensuring they’ll serve you well through winter and beyond. Use the fork to aerate soil gently, as this can help improve drainage during wet winter months.

 

A shrub rake is also a good tool to remove debris and dead leaves from around your plants and shrubs in borders. 

 

 

 

Take Hardwood Cuttings

 

Winter is the perfect time to take cuttings of some shrubs, trees and climbers using material cut from fully mature stems, known as hardwood cuttings. 

 

It is best to take hardwood cuttings just after leaf fall and certainly well before the new buds break in late winter. Early December is an excellent time, as long as it is not too frosty. Use sharp secateurs to cut the material.

 

Roses, figs, hollies, rhododendrons and Philadelphus are great to grow from hardwood cuttings. Remove a hardwood stem using sharp secateurs and make a sloping cut at the top, just above a bud, then 15cm down make a horizontal cut for the base. Dip the base in hormone rooting gel. Then pop the cutting vertically in a trench outside, leaving the top 2/3 buds above the soil and firm. Leave it until next autumn, when you should have a fully grown plant.

 

 

 

 

 

Mulch Your Beds

 

Protecting your plants with a layer of mulch helps regulate soil temperature and retains moisture, which is especially beneficial as winter sets in. Spread mulch around the base of trees, shrubs, and flower beds to insulate roots and prevent frost damage. 

 

Apply mulch in a 2–3 inch layer using a digging spade, being careful not to cover the base of plant stems to avoid rot.

 

 

 

 

Prune Dormant Trees and Shrubs

 

December is a great time for pruning certain dormant trees and shrubs, as it encourages healthy growth in spring. For light pruning of small branches, Eversharp All Purpose Secateurs provide precision cutting without damaging the rest of the plant. For larger, tougher branches, try SureCut All Purpose Extra Power Loppers that offer the power and leverage needed to make clean cuts with minimal effort. For hard to reach branches, you can also use a tree lopper that extends to up to 3m for reaching and pruning branches that are otherwise inaccessible. 

 

Winter is the ideal time to prune your apple and pear trees now that plants are dormant and the tree's naked branch structure can most easily be seen. Look out for congested, rubbing growth, dead or diseased wood, and overlong branch leaders.

  

 

 

 

 

Protect Pots and Containers

 

Potted plants are best moved under cover or at least close to sheltered house walls during spells of extreme cold when the compost and roots within may freeze.

 

Even relatively hardy plants that survive winter when easily planted out in the ground can be damaged if grown in containers. You can lag pots with hessian or bubble wrap, or if its just overnight when extreme temperatures are forecast, bring the plant in.

 

 

 

 

Check and Maintain Your Tools

 

December is an ideal time to clean, sharpen, and oil your gardening tools so they’re ready for spring. Sharpen the blades of your pruners, oil the wooden handles, and ensure everything is rust-free and in good working order.

 

Store your tools in a dry place to prevent rust and prolong their lifespan. A bit of regular maintenance keeps them performing their best all year round. Read our guide on how to care for your garden tools. 

 

 

 

Feed Winter Wildlife

 

While you’re preparing the garden, don’t forget to support winter wildlife! Place bird feeders around your garden, ensuring birds have access to seeds, nuts, and fresh water. A thriving winter wildlife scene can benefit your garden come spring by naturally reducing pests. 

 

 

 

 

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