All-in-One Garden and Leisure - Winter Garden Products, helpful tips and garden care information for the cold months ahead

Grasses

Winter

Introduction

As the cold and short days are upon us, we should make plans for the seasons ahead and catch up on reading and surfing the net for gardening information.

Flowers are more than a welcome site in these cold months. A splash of colour in the right place can command full attention, especially if planted against a dark background where they're flowers can easily be seen.

In addition to flowers, (many scented), the stems and twigs of certain shrubs and trees can add decorative interest in many forms and colours; Acer griseum offers intense warm colours in its peeling bark, that is a feature, not only in Winter but throughout the year. Berries are another delight in the Winter time, being both pleasing to the eye as well as providing a vital source of food to our little feathered friends when food is so scarce.

Conifers and evergreen shrubs are an essential ingredient in the Winter garden, providing various colours and foliage. They look especially effective planted with ornamental grasses.

Click on the following links for jobs to do in the Winter months . . .

Plants of Winter Interest

Acer Griseum - Paperbark Maple
Crocus
Cornus - Dogwood
Galanthus nivalis - Snowdrops
Garrya elliptica
Hamamelis - Witch Hazel
Helleborus niger - Christmas Rose
Iris reticulata
Jasminum nudiflorum - Winter Jasmine
Mahonia
Viburnum bodnantense 'Dawn'
Viburnum tinus - Eve Price

Winter Gardening Jobs

The garden can look ugly at this time of year with piles of leaves and died down vegetation, congregating in corners and flower beds, so . . . wrap up warm, ready to tackle the few essential jobs in tidying and preparing for Spring.

Fruit

Prune soft fruit, removing old stems. Spray trees with Winter wash.

Shrubs

Visit the garden centre to purchase Winter flowers, to plant when the soil conditions improve.

Lawns

Get the mower serviced ready for Spring.

Greenhouse

Clean and disinfect, ready for the Spring season. Sow seeds into modules to save time and space. If you don't already own a greenhouse, we have a great range on display.

Flowers

Plan what you are going to grow this season for bedding and herbaceous borders. Grow from seed or alternatively, choose from our wide range of baby plants from our 'Home Grown Range', available February to June. Fill any gaps in tubs with Winter flowering Pansies.

Vegetables

Seed potatoes and onion sets, Seeds and Summer bulbs arel all be available for sale from mid - end January.

General Maintenance

Clean up paths and patios with moss and slime cleaner like Armillatox.

DON'T FORGET THE BIRDS

Here at All-In-One, we have a comprehensive selection of wild bird food including nuts, seeds and fat snax and a great range of feeders and houses to keep their little peckers up in the Winter and our selection of finely crafted bird tables from Peter Smith is second to none. We also offer a range of plants to encourage wildlife to your garden. Click here to download your free guide.

Pond Treatment

Allow Your Fish To Breath Easy This Winter !

Pond Heaters

A Winter Life Saver - not only for your fish, but for the surrounding wildlife that need access to water in the big freeze.

The purpose of a pond heater is to ensure that there is an adequate oxygen supply for the fish into your pond. Only during the summer months, do aquatic plants produce oxygen, so in Winter, fish have to rely on oxygen which enters the water via the surface of the pond. If your pond ices over, your fish are entirely dependent upon whatever oxygen is present in the water, therefore, by keeping a small hole melted in the ice, allows sufficient oxygen to enter the pond.

An iced over pond is like keeping fish in a sealed container with a lid on - not only can this suffocate the fish, but it prevents toxic gases from escaping, which are created by decaying vegetation and waste on the bottom of the pond. Using a pond heater creates holes in the ice, allowing these gases to escape. Breaking the ice is not suitable as this can cause harm to the fish.

Prevention Is Always Better Than Cure . . .

Pond Guardian Tonic Salt

Pond salt assists the pond owner in safeguarding against fish disease. A dose of Pond Guardian every year minimises the build up of bacteria and parasites, which become active, earlier on than fish, thus causing major problems with the fishes' health. Pond salt aids fish by cleaning small open wounds and will help your fishes' immune system to combat disease as well as killing parasites and over-wintered eggs. Pond Guardian's unique formula helps to create the perfect environment for pond fish, stablising the PH close to neutral and reducing the toxic effects of fish waste.

So stop fish from dying and use Pond Guardian Tonic Salt now!

Fed Up Of Sludge In You Pond?

Pond Skimmer Nets

Stop sludge before it happens by regularly skimming the surface of the water to remove dead leaves and debris before it sinks and rots to cause sludge and ammonia build up. Use pond hand nets to do this. Alternatively, pond cover nets are the most effective way of keeping leaves out of the water and at the same time, they offer protection from predators, such as birds, cats and herons. Skimming nets and cover nets are available in a range of sizes and help to enable you to keep a crystal clear pond all year round.

Feeding Your Fish

Fish Food

Just because ponds are cooler in spring and autumn, doesn't mean that pond fish no longer need a well-balanced, highly nutritious diet to stay healthy and colourful. In fact, correct nutrition in the spring and autumn periods is vital for pond fish as they move out of and then into their growth phase.

That's why Nishikoi have launched Spring & Autumn Mix - the low temperature pond food for all varieties and sizes of pond fish. Not only does the combination of sticks, pellets and flakes make Nishikoi Spring & Autumn Mix ideal for a pond containing a range of fish sizes and varieties, but the low-waste wheatgerm-based formulation makes it easy to digest. Just what pond fish and filters need in the spring and autumn.