In The Flower Garden This December

Here are fresh, practical, and garden-ready tips for the flower garden in December — perfect for a month when plants rest but good preparation pays off:

🌼 Top Tips for the Flower Garden in December 

❄️ 1. Protect Plants from Frost 

• Give tender perennials (salvias, pelargoniums, cannas) fleece or cloche protection.

• Move pots close to the house or into a porch/greenhouse for extra warmth. 

• Raise pots on feet to stop roots sitting in freezing water. 

🌸 2. Enjoy & Maintain Winter Flowerers 

These are your stars now: 

• Hellebores – trim old leaves to showcase flowers and reduce disease.

• Winter jasmine – tie in shoots but avoid hard pruning.

• Mahonia, viburnum, sarcococca – lightly tidy if needed.

• Pansies/violas – keep deadheading for steady winter colour.

🍂 3. Mulch While the Ground Is Mild 

• Apply compost, bark, or leaf mould around perennials and borders.

• Mulching protects roots, feeds soil life, and keeps winter weeds down. 

• Avoid mulching onto frozen ground. 

🌱 4. Plant Winter Bedding (if the weather is mild) 

• Pansies, wallflowers, primulas, cyclamen hederifolium, heathers

• Ideal for filling dull gaps, as long as the soil isn’t frozen or waterlogged. 

🧹 5. Tidy (But Don’t Over-Tidy) 

• Cut back mushy, collapsed stems that harbour slugs. 

• Leave seedheads from echinacea, rudbeckia, sedum, teasel for structure and wildlife.

• Keep evergreen perennials clear from heavy wet leaves. 

🌼 6. Care for Roses 

• Remove any dead or diseased wood now. 

• Stop long stems whipping around in the wind by lightly shortening them. 

• Save hard pruning for Feb–March. 

📦 7. Check Stored Bulbs & Tubers 

• Inspect stored dahlias, gladioli, begonias for any rot. 

• Keep them dry, cool, and dark—ventilation is key. 

• Discard or cut away small rotten areas before they spread. 

🌿 8. Support Wildlife 

• Provide winter food and shelter by leaving some perennial stems standing. 

• Refresh bird baths during freezing spells. 

• Add log piles or leaf heaps for insects and hedgehogs. 

🧼 9. Clean Tools, Pots & Greenhouse 

• Wash greenhouse windows to maximise precious winter light. 

• Clean and oil secateurs, sharpen shears. 

• Disinfect pots, seed trays, and labels ready for spring sowing. 

🪴 10. Bring Some Colour Indoors 

• Forced bulbs like paperwhites, hyacinths, amaryllis bring festive scent and light when the garden is resting.