It may be one of the coldest months of the year but it’s so beautiful – I love the bright red stems of the dogwood, the berries on the holly and Skimmia, the feathery silhouettes of trees now bare of leaves, the rusty colour of ferns dying back.
My customers’ gardens are full of life with robins chasing each other about the garden, outwitting each other for worms. I have been uncovering sleepy frogs and toads.
It is sad to be packing away the Christmas decorations but I’m excited about the year ahead. It’s great starting off the year with a list of resolutions, after all the busyness of Christmas it’s nice to find some peace and focus on all the exciting plans for the year ahead.
Now that we are well past the shortest day, the evenings will start to draw out again giving us extra time to wander around the garden, dreaming and working out a plan for the fast-approaching spring when we can begin planting again!
So far we have had a luckily (and surprisingly!) mild winter and I hope it continues, it is wonderful seeing Lilies and Penstemons and Roses in bloom at this time of year.
The Royal Horticultural Society has said that as temperatures increase year on year we can expect more intense fragrance from our flowers – particularly plants that have little scent such as broom and heather – imagine how much more amazing Kelling Heath will be when the heather is blooming!
What have you found flowering unexpectedly? Share your photos on Facebook!
Happy New Year –
Happy Gardening!
Jobs for January:
- You can still move and plant trees and shrubs now – it’s a great time to plant roses while they are dormant (they have no leaves on and haven’t started budding yet).
- Cut back old Hellebore leaves so that you can see the flowers.
- Cut back Wisteria side-shoots to 2-3 buds.
- Collect up leaves from flowerbeds.
- Check tree stakes and frost protection (e.g. Horticultural fleece) is still in place.
- Watch out for slugs and snails and remove.
- Enjoy the garden!