January can be a harsh month on your garden, the weather is usually quite bad and the temperature can often turn sub zero. It is all to often the case that many people believe that the winter months are not suitable for gardening and garden care. This myth is simply not true, there are plenty of garden jobs to be getting on with. So wrap up warm and venture into your garden, what you do or don’t do in January will have a vast impact during the summer.

Clear up Autumn’s Mess

You will more than likely have fallen leaves left over from the autumn months, now is the time to finally finish clearing these away. Not only do they not look particularly nice but the also offer shelter for slugs, snails and other garden pests. Pay particular attention to areas under bushes and shrubs. As an extra precaution, it is worth while clearing your guttering to avoid blockages. Don’t throw these leaves away, they can be stored in a leaf bin and be allowed to rot down and be used later on in the year.

Care for your water features

Ice can damage water pumps and filters in your water feature, so it is important to remove and store these at this time of year. It is also essential that you keep your water features covered with netting or other covers as this will stop falling leaves and other foreign objects from contaminating them.