Time to make plans for the new gardening year although in reality I’ve been planning for this gardening year since the end of last summer. Not plans on paper, just plans in my head, ideas to try and make the garden look better this year.
The beds and borders obviously evolve over time. Plants that I put in all in a rush when we moved here have either outgrown their space or even died. How dare they! After fifteen years here I think we are now able to make sensible decisions about what to plant and where. We know the garden well, where the frost pockets are, the areas that bake in the sun in summer and those that see little light in the winter. Time now to tidy up the planting and look forward.
Seeds have been ordered and even better, have arrived in the post. I need to sit and make a seed sowing list and not be tempted into sowing too early. I’ll learn by my mistakes, be patient and wait a while. Seeds sown too soon turn into struggling seedlings, prone to damping off which inevitably leads to disappointment and having to start all over again. For now I will clean out the heated propagator and set it up in the utility room and make sure I’ve washed a quantity of small pots and seed trays in readiness.
Despite frosty and foggy days at the moment the garden is starting to come back into life. The first snowdrops are flowering, always the same patch that is first, I believe them to be Galanthus S. Arnott. Narcissus are starting to grow, there is a patch in the orchard underneath the willow tree that are always the first to flower and sure enough they are showing a few buds already. On odd days when the sun has broken through it really lights up the hazel catkins and Dogwoods (Cornus Westonbirt) in the orchard. One of the most rewarding shrubs at the moment is Viburnum bodnantense Dawn which is covered in beautiful pink fragrant blooms. It’s planted near the gate so I pass it every morning as I set out to walk the dogs, on all but the coldest days its fragrance is so strong. Mahonia is also flowering, the yellow flowers having a lily of the valley fragrance. On warmer days honey bees have already been foraging on this shrub. Shrubs that flower at this time of year are so worthwhile, not only for us to enjoy but also for the bees.
The ground may be too frozen at the moment for me to start on weeding the borders but there is always something that can be done outside. We’ve cut back the willow that surrounds the vegetable garden, carefully stacking all the stems ready for use. Some has been used to weave a short run of fence in the back garden at a spot where the hedge is a little thin. I’ve also woven a couple of plant supports which will be used for the sweet peas.
Tales from a Country Garden 