You may have heard of the Chelsea Chop and the Hampton Hack, but have you been introduced to the Twixmas Tidy? I thought not!
The Twixmas Tidy offers a valid excuse to venture outside when you’ve watched one too many repeats, scoffed all the mince pies or run out of nice things to say to your nearest and dearest. Alas, it does not involve the organisation of chocolate-coated, caramel-covered shortbread biscuits, but you are welcome to undertake that exercise if the mood takes you. The Twixmas Tidy is undertaken during the curious void between Christmas and New Year when most of us are either working - but really not working - or just twiddling our thumbs before New Year celebrations begin. I cherish these aimless, nameless days because it’s the only time of year where I feel no sense of responsibility or obligation to anyone. I enjoy pottering and doing jobs at my own pace and the Twixmas Tidy allows me to do just that.
Unlike the Chelsea Chop, which is a one-trick pony, the Twixmas Tidy may include a number of activities, including sweeping, pruning, cleaning, repairing, decluttering and organising. After all the indulgence and frivolity of Christmas, these might sound like unappealing ways to spend time, but I find them cathartic and a useful prelude to my New Year’s resolutions. If you’re with me, here’s a list of tasks which might usefully be done over the coming days. If you’re not, I am sure The Sound of Music or Fawlty Towers is streaming somewhere.
- Sort and clean plant pots, discarding any that are broken or surplus to requirements. Smashed terracotta pots can be used as crocks or to fill the bottom of deep containers that would otherwise gobble up vast quantities of compost. Cracked plastic pots should be disposed of as sustainably as possible, bearing in mind that black plant pots aren’t generally accepted for recycling because the sortation machinery can’t detect them at the recycling facility. Some garden centres and nurseries offer plant pot take-back schemes, which is much better than consigning them to landfill.
- There’s not a gardener alive without an overflowing seed box. Go through your stash and remove any packets past their ‘sow by’ date. Although such dates are purely advisory, you may find that germination is reduced if you sow older seeds. If you discover varieties you know you’ll never plant, consider gifting them to a school or community gardening project, or trade them with fellow gardeners for seeds you’d prefer. If you’ve got time on your hands, organise the remaining packets by planting month in readiness for the new sowing season.
- Cut down summer-flowering shrubs, climbers and perennials that have begun to look tatty – roses, buddleia, lavatera, clematis and salvias are prime candidates for a Twixmas Tidy. Sadly, the uber-Instagrammable swathes of prairie-style planting, faded to fawn and fringed with frost, are a rarity in the UK, where winters are wet and soggy. Rather than let the wind rip plants away from walls or dislodge them from the ground, cut them back to somewhere between 30 and 60cm, depending on the plant type, and then give them a good mulch with compost or fallen leaves.
- While you’re slowly digesting your turkey and Christmas pud, it’s a good opportunity to mend or replace worn-out gardening gear. If you’re feeling thrifty, scour the sales for reduced clothing and boots. I bring in my pruning tools one at a time and scour away the rust with a Crean Mate before sharpening them. Afterwards, I coat the blades with protective camellia oil and refresh wooden handles with a balm rich in linseed and beeswax.
- Scour your shed for the last few bags of spring-flowering bulbs and get them in the ground or pots immediately. Provided they’re firm and free of disease, they will almost certainly grow. The likelihood is that they’ll bloom, albeit a little later than they might have done had they been planted in autumn. Tulips will be unperturbed by late planting, but don’t leave the job any later than the end of January.
- Give your house plants a pamper – remove yellowing leaves, check for pests and diseases, and ensure they’re positioned away from radiators. Use a special brush or microfibre cloth to remove dust from healthy foliage. Leaves dropping from a plant that is otherwise healthy are a sure sign that a plant is in a cold draught. That Christmas favourite, the poinsettia, is especially prone: move affected plants and hope for the best. Avoid buying new plants unless you are confident you can get them home without them catching a chill.
- Remove moss from gutters and sweep it off paths before someone slips on it. I don’t know what happens where you live, but our resident magpies take enormous delight in picking over the moss on our workshop roof and scattering it everywhere, including on the car windscreen.
- Clear vegetable plots of last year’s crops and spread generous quantities of manure or compost on the bare earth. There’s no need to dig it in – just let the worms and winter rain do the hard work for you.
If that sounds like a lot, remember there’s no pressure: most of the tasks I’ve listed can be performed at any time between December and the end of February. But, if the Twixmas Tidy gets you out of another game of Monopoly or windswept winter walk, consider the idea my gift to you.
Note - a version of this article was first published on my long-running blog, The Frustrated Gardener, in December 2022.