What to do with festive trees (From Gazette Series)

What to do with festive trees

This week we introduce the Gazette's new gardening column, written by Jayne Bennett, of Thornbury, an enthusiastic and successful gardener, although she would not claim to be an expert and certainly not a professional. Jayne's aim is to help would-be gardeners and enthusiastic amateurs through the perils of the gardening year.

GARDENERS' families always have it easy at Christmas - from funky Wellingtons to a new pair of secateurs, there's always something Santa can find. I was lucky this year - not one but two pairs of gloves, one for pruning and one for weeding.

I have to be honest though, the best gloves that I've found for gardening are those thin latex gloves like the ones doctors use - anything thicker and I end up dramatically flinging them on the floor, frustrated at my inability to grasp the tiniest of weeds or grip a particular stem. Don't get me wrong - I am grateful. It's just old habits die hard when it comes to keeping fingernails clean. And have you ever tried to pick up a single seed while wearing gardening gloves?

And so, Twelfth Night has arrived, which means that thousands of "real" Christmas trees will be robbed of their sparkling decorations and flung outside to adorn the front lawn for a few weeks, naked but for a few strands of the ubiquitous tinsel, inextricably tangled around the now-bare spikes.

It's so sad that people can make such an effort over the Christmas period, only to spoil the view for everyone else straight afterwards. Here in South Glos we are lucky - chop your tree up and just put it into your green bin and you know you're helping to recycle, as well as keeping your front garden clean.

Still on the subject of Christmas trees, it always amazes me that "green" thinkers are encouraged to buy a rooted Christmas tree so that it can be planted in the back garden after use. Where, exactly? Few of us have gardens big enough to locate a fully-grown Norway Spruce (which can reach the epic height of 80ft), and even if we did, they don't often fit in well with existing planting - no matter how often we're told that conifers are coming back into fashion.

When we moved into our cottage, we inherited an enormous Scandinavian fir at the top of our back garden. Not only did it block the beautiful view across the valley but it robbed the top lawn and borders of precious water in the summer and nutrients all year round. It did not take long before hubby took the chainsaw to it - a shame in many ways to destroy such a healthy tree but I managed to persuade him that it was a kind of martyrdom, a sacrifice to save the lives of many other beautiful plants that were being left in the shade.

If you have land to spare, then firs can be beautiful, of course, and provided your tree hasn't been suffocated by the central heating and has been kept properly watered, most can still be moved outside after about a week. Dig a big enough hole, add plenty of manure and keep your fingers crossed - even poor soils will sustain many firs. Alternatively, keep it in a pot - guaranteed to limit growth and keep the neighbours happy.

BLOB: If you are a member of a gardening club or society which has a programme of events running throughout the winter, please e-mail me at jaynegarden@blueyonder.co.uk, or write to me at the Gazette, Reliance House, Long Street, Dursley GL11 4LS.

Jobs for this week:

- Take the opportunity to wash out pots and seed trays thoroughly in a sterilising agent such as Jeyes Fluid. This is vital for disease prevention when you start planting seeds in a few weeks' time

- Take advantage of dry weather and use the time to protect any exposed timber structures such as pergolas with wood preservative whilst growth has died back. This is also an ideal time to repair fences

- Keep an eye on your winter pots and keep dead-heading your pansies to prevent them going to seed and to maintain flowering

- Prune apple trees now to encourage growth. If, however, your aim is to prevent a profusion of new branches, then it is best to wait until the summer