The start of a new year is almost always a time of optimism for the gardener: this year is bound to be better than last, after all. There are plans to be made to make that dream a reality, and lessons to be learned from last year’s failures. But, hey! We have another chance to create a little piece of paradise.
Making a list
Jot down the things you’ve not been happy about over the last year: the areas of your garden that need particular attention – the broken gate, the punctured wheelbarrow tyre, the overgrown border; the things you were without – a decent seat to admire your handiwork, a greenhouse or a compost heap. Make a note of new plants you would like to order and cross them off as you attend to them. You’ll find that very action therapeutic!
Clean out the greenhouse
You know how those plants that aren’t doing well, or which you really don’t like, have a habit of hanging round and filling up the greenhouse? Ditch them. Bung them on the compost heap. You’ll be surprised how this greenhouse ‘life laundry’ improves your mood – and allows room for new treasures. Choose a mild day to empty the greenhouse completely, scrub down or pressure-wash the inside and replace and re-stage the plants before the evening dip in temperature.
Plant bare-root trees and shrubs
The dormant season – between October and March – is not only the time to plant new deciduous trees and shrubs dug up from nursery rows but also to move those that are in the wrong place. Not large established trees, obviously, but younger ones that have been poorly sited. Prepare the soil well and dig them up with as much earth clinging to the roots as possible. Replant them in enriched earth and give them a mulch of organic matter to help retain moisture and keep down weeds.
Order seeds
Scour the internet and riffle your way through the seed catalogues looking not only for those stalwarts of the vegetable patch you grow every year but also for a few flowers that you’ve not tried before. Bedding plants can be raised from seed if you have a heated propagator and a greenhouse, and you’ll have the satisfaction of saying ‘I grew them myself.’
Fork over the veg patch
There’s often no need to dig. Just fork over the veg patch, working in well-rotted garden compost or bulky soil enrichment and removing any weeds. You can add fertiliser later. For now a light cultivation and tidying up is all that’s needed.
Rose pruning
Hybrid teas can be reduced to around knee height, floribundas to your waist. Regardless of their type, cut out any dead, diseased, weak or congesting stems to create a well-spaced framework of branches. Shrub roses can have two or three older stems removed completely, to help with continuous rejuvenation, and a few inches snipped off the shoot tips. Give them all a helping of garden compost or manure to offer them a spring boost.
Hellebores
Cut all the leaves from Lenten hellebores. This has several advantages: you’ll be able to watch the flowers emerge from the earth unmasked by all that foliage and you’ll reduce the likelihood of damage by mice who enjoy the shelter those leaves provide. Any leaves that show signs of fungal black spotting should be burned rather than composted.
Sprouting spuds
Seed potatoes tend to produce a heavier crop if the tubers are sprouted before planting. Stand them in egg-boxes or trays on a frost-free windowsill – eyes uppermost – to encourage the buds to grow a little. They’ll take a few weeks and will be ready to plant in March.
Invest in new bird feeders…
…and clean your old ones with warm soapy water. Make sure they are refilled every morning. Garden birds are starving at this time of year and anything we can do to help them is rewarded by greater activity. Make sure the birds have fresh, unfrozen water, too.
Early rhubarb
If you have a few clumps of rhubarb on the veg patch, cover one or two with rhubarb forcing pots or inverted buckets to encourage a few early sticks. Stuffing the covering with straw will give added insulation and speed up production. Gosh they taste good!
