Winter Maintenance

27 Odd Jobs To Do Now At Your Address…

Regular maintenance to keep the house and garden in good nick is something you cannot skip. So if you have to spend the cooler months grafting away to fix stuff, smile as it can save you frustration, injury, money and even insurance claims later.

1 Light up your focal points and plants, the pond and treacherous steps with garden lights fitted with low-energy light bulbs. Motion-detecting outdoor lights for security purposes versus those that burn all night is also a way to save on electrical power.

2 Remove large, overhanging branches close to the house, and also check the centre of large trees for dead or diseased wood. If the garden has been too shady in summer and most of your trees happen to be deciduous, it’s a good idea to study their winter-bare silhouettes to see if you can’t perhaps remove some of the inner branches to make their crowns less dense. This is called ‘feathering’. Keep safety in mind when working with a chainsaw, and wear protective headgear and goggles when pruning a tree or large shrub.

3 Trim evergreen hedges and clear out all the rubble that collects under them.

4 Treat wooden decks and fencing with a wood sealer. Fix the holes in wire fencing and plant lovely climbers to trail over it.

5 Send your lawnmower for a service and to have new blades fitted.

6 Paint your peeling garden pots containing specimen plants in a different colour, scrape out the top layer of soil and fill them up with fresh potting soil and compost.

7 Store garden furniture away after cleaning and repainting it. Wash soft furnishings and slip covers and pack them away.

8 Cart away old rubble and large heaps of dead plant material not used on the compost heap – this can become a breeding place for all kinds of vermin, and is also a fire hazard.