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December: Month By Month In Our Scottish Gardens
The Food Forest, The Raised Bed Garden & The Kitchen Courtyard
December settles quietly over the garden, bringing with it the stillness of true Winter. The days are short and pale, the sun low even at midday and frost lingers long into the morning. Growth has slowed almost to a standstill now, and the garden rests beneath layers of mulch, fallen leaves and cold air. December is not a month of doing so much as noticing, of protection, patience, and trust in the cycle of the seasons. December we turn our attention to indoor growing on the windowsills, prepping our pots and ordering our seeds. We do a lot of indoor crafting from nature to bring the outdoors in take a look at blog: Eco-Friendly, Plastic-Free Christmas Decor & Gifts: Beautiful Ideas From Reclaimed Items & Nature
The Food Forest
In the food forest, December is a time of rest and protection. The trees stand bare, their branches etched sharply against Winter skies, holding their energy deep within their roots. The mulch laid earlier in the season fallen leaves gathered and spread with care, now does its quiet work, insulating the soil and feeding life beneath the surface. The young yarrow plants, horseradish crowns, and wild garlic bulbs lie dormant, safely tucked away until the light returns. There is no harvest now, but much to appreciate: the structure of the trees, the shelter they offer wildlife, and the sense of continuity they bring to the garden even in stillness.
December is a month we rarely visit this area of the garden as Clayton struggles with the cold damp air, as it freshen up a bit early in the next year we’ll be out getting some more trees and bushes in the ground.
Tree Cabbage Still going strong
The Raised Beds
The raised beds are fully asleep in December. Covered with cardboard and thick layers of leaves, they are protected from frost, heavy rain and winter erosion. What looks bare and quiet above ground is busy below, as worms and microbes slowly break down organic matter, improving the soil for next year. These beds now ask for nothing but time. We resist the urge to disturb them, trusting that rest is as important as growth. December reminds us that good gardening includes knowing when to step back. All the seeds from the year collected, dried and added into envelopes labelled for next year.
Mini Food Forest on a fence line up by the house
The Kitchen Courtyard & Indoors
With the outdoor garden resting, life moves closer to the house. The kitchen courtyard is calm, with only the hardiest herbs, rosemary, thyme and chives, standing firm against the cold, often tucked into sheltered corners. Indoors, however, the garden continues. Trays of microgreens brighten windowsills, offering fresh leaves of coriander, rosemary, pea shoots, and herbs through the darkest days. Our Winter onions are sown on the windowsills too. These small, steady harvests bring colour and vitality to the kitchen and remind us that growing doesn’t stop it simply changes form. Check what we are sowing here: What Can I Plant In The Winter Months In Scotland?
Our Peppers, Chills and Aubergine plants all Winter pruned and tucked away in our porch with a load of cardboard we’ve collected to go out.
DIY Rosemary Tree Decor Video Reel
Monthly Grow Kits From Seed Folk Video Reel
All Our Days Is Spent In Our Garden & Home: HomeEd Video Reel
The Season’s Mood
December carries a deep, reflective calm. The garden no longer demands attention or effort; instead, it offers space to pause, to look back and to rest alongside it. The year’s work is complete. Harvests are stored, seeds are saved and plans are quietly forming for Spring. There is comfort in this pause, in knowing that beneath frost and mulch, life is gathering strength.
As the garden sleeps, we do a little of the same tending what is close, slowing our pace, and trusting that when the light returns, growth will follow once again.
Happy Gardening!
Follow Us Across Our Socials
Katrina & Clayton and family live in East Ayrshire and share their daily life in the garden on instagram. They practice permaculture principles in the garden, reducing & repurposing waste whenever they can. Katrina shows how home educating in nature has helped Clayton thrive.
Clayton Completed The 2 Grow and Learn Courses with the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society. He is Autistic, Non Verbal & has been Home Educated since 2018. Katrina & Peter hold their PDC & PDC PRO Permaculture Design Course from Oregon State University.
They featured on BBC Beechgrove Gardens Ep23 2022 and returned in 2023 for an update, Katrina & Clayton are also columnists for ScotlandGrows Magazine, Guest Blog for Caledonian Horticulture as well as working with Gardeners’ World Magazine and many other brands.
They are also Author of the new Children’s Book Series: Clayton’s Garden Journey: Stories of Autism and Gardening. Topics on Growing, Harvesting, Sowing & Composting and 108 Page Weather and Seasons Weekly Gardening Record Book available on Amazon and Kindle.
Listen in on their Guest Podcasts to learn more about them.
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Our Children’s Book Series
Author of the new children’s book series: Clayton’s Garden Journey: Stories of Autism and Gardening and Sowing, Growing, Weather and Seasons Weekly Gardening Record Book available on Amazon and Kindle
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