Usually when the New Year comes around, we tend to make resolutions around our health, fitness and wellbeing – all great ideas, but how about setting a different kind of resolution in 2019? Here are some garden-themed New Year’s resolutions that you could try this year:

• Recycle the Christmas tree rather than leaving it in the garden as a reproachful skeleton until August! Garden centres quite often will take them, or local recycling centres, or most councils will take any left out for a couple of weeks after Christmas as long as they are not over 4ft high.

• Grow at least one vegetable, be it a row of runner beans or a courgette in a pot.

• Don’t tie the dying foliage of daffodils into neat bundles – leave it to die back naturally.

• Don’t leave tools in the border to go rusty! This is one that I definitely need to stick to this year!

• Mow the lawn once a week in growing season, even if it doesn’t look like it needs it.

These resolutions should mean you end the year proud of your garden – either because you’ve grown something new, or because you’ve kept it tidier than previous years! Now on to some general tips for your garden in January.

A good time to buy Hellebores

To see the flowers of your Hellebores at their best in the coming weeks, cut away last year’s grotty leaves. If you haven’t got any this is a good time to buy them, as they are starting to flower and you can pick your favourite from all the wonderful range of pink, purple and violet colours. They like a nice rich soil and will thrive in semi-shade, and they look so magical with snowdrops and evergreen ferns during the dark days of January and February.

Garlic grows best when it has endured some winter chill and rain, so plant out individual cloves in a sunny spot, pointed end up, 15cm apart with 2.5cm of soil covering them. If the soil is heavy or really wet you can start the cloves off in small pots of soil-based compost and leave outside in a sheltered spot ready to plant out in spring.

A well-needed boost for the coming season

If you have a greenhouse you can sow broad beans such as ‘Empress’ or ‘Witkiem Manita’ in pots. Lettuces can be sown into plugs in the greenhouse and transplanted outside later on if wanted, or sow cut and come again varieties into pots or growbags in the green-house. This also goes for those of you lucky enough to have window sills (I don’t have any!) – you can sow a small window box inside and pick off leaves as desired. Lettuces can also be sown outside under a cold frame or cloche.

Mulch fruit trees , bushes and canes with organic matter unless the soil is waterlogged or frozen. This will give them a well-needed boost for the coming season.

Get your garden off to a good start in 2019 and enjoy its splendours through the year!