January

Winter Pruning, waiting for hellebores and new audio on plans for the gardens here.

I’ve added a new element, ‘Floral Notes Audio’, with a tour of the gardens and tasks in my own gardens this month.

There is much to enjoy of bright blue skies of a crisp January day as well as those misty cold ones, where fog lingers over fallen beds of grasses, last year’s flower heads and cobwebs woven between uptight stems and shrubs almost holding planting up together. It is a truly beautiful time of the year; but the gardeners hand offers little benefit this month. Grass and borders are best left untrodden since footsteps will damage frosty lawns or compact wet soils.

On a mild day, winter pruning apple trees is, however, a warming satisfying and useful job, as is working on a wisteria and grapevine. With no leaves, the frameworks can be seen clearly. Don’t go too hard on an apple but cut back to two fruiting buds on a mature tree. Hard pruning in winter will stimulate those lengthy straight water shoots that don’t benefit the shape or fruiting. For wisterias and grapevines, cut back side shoots and stems to a strong structure. Cut out congested stems. I just love the shapes of deciduous climbers like these in the winter.

And whilst you are out, plant any forgotten bulbs. Consider pots temporarily in beds too. Rather than waiting for leaves to yellow, they can be removed immediately after flowering and summer annuals planted in their place.

The rest of the month is a good time to rest like the garden, anchor and strengthen roots by pouring over photos, seed catalogues and plans. As the late Christopher Lloyd, of Great Dixter  said of choosing annuals,

“(The) seed catalogues make us plan on a smaller scale. ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to grow such-and-such again next year?’ we think. And this is quickly followed by, ‘Where shall we plant it, and what will go well with it?’ Planning has many aspects and ramifications.”

Now, I heartily recommend having a go at growing anything that takes your fancy but I try to discipline myself to just a couple of newbies, in devotion to my planting plan and vision. You see I’ve often grown annuals on the whim of a well taken photo but had little use for it. Sometimes these plants ensure their place by being exceptional bedfellows for herbaceous borders when wishing to grow a handful of plants each year. But they are rarely worth their place on the flower farm where each must be worthy of its spot - be it long lasting in the vase, heavenly scented or well shaped. Growing for pleasure or profit are very different things indeed. The annuals I do grow are experiments or tried and tested ‘essentials’ - all luxuries and appreciated for their individual value.

The first Hellebores in our gardens.

When you are flicking through the glorious catalogues (Chilterns, Special Plants and Sarah Raven being some of the most coveted), think about your own space. How much room is there for planting (sketch out a plan if you can)? What is already there? What conditions do you have? Do you want plants to compliment the same growing season in interest or provide it at another time? What are you growing for? To cut? To look good at a particular time of the year? All these questions ultimately help whittle down lists and create assured schemes to be proud of. And a few well spent January afternoons, ideally near a wood burner.

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What to do in January

1. Very Little

   I am deep in Wintering and enjoying melting into our sofa and relaxing. This also involves piles of cook and garden books around me for inspiration. Thinking. And sometimes, venturing out into the gardens. We’ve mostly been pruning shrubs and trees in our new garden (we moved into, in May). Opening up the borders and some spaces for more shrubs and trees! We have taken it carefully, pruning encourages more growth which we don’t necessarily want. Bar the upside of a pleasing shape, mroe light and air through the canopies and borders with space to plant, we also shredded up three trolleys worth of branches! This has all been transferred to the Walled Garden for mixing in with other materials for composting.

   

   Some of the planting before I got stuck in. Joy! I l know how to spend a holiday well.

2. Pruning

   Good rules of thumb -

   a. Always use sharp secateurs.

   b. Cut out rubbing or crossing branches

   c. Prune out dead wood.

   d. Lightly prune older, thicker wood and hard prune new growth (to encourage).

   

   We filled 3 trolleys to over flow with chippings to gather for this years compost heaps.

3. Perennials

   I am beginning to cut down any old leaves and stems on plants that are emerging beneath, for instance heuchera and alchemilla mollis. Cut out all old growth of hellebores. Chop down old growth on grasses especially where they are no longer standing.

4. Mulching

   Spread compost around the base of shrubs and trees.

5. Weeding

   Now that plants have retreated, I can see couch grass and creeping buttercup. I will try to weed these out where I can (I might need to empty beds long term but I can face that right now).

6. Dahlias

   If you lifted yours (I’ve cut mine down and mulched), check on them in storage. Throw out any that are soft and rotten and prevent the rest of your stock going the same way.

   

   Dahlias fully blackened now. I cut these down and mulched with a good few spades of compost to protect the tubers from winter wet and freezing.

7. Sweet Peas

   A good seed to sow now for early flowers. Soak seeds for a few hours if you remember or sow straight into root trainers in a multipurpose compost - push seeds down to about the depth of your first knuckle. Water well. You can cover to encourage them through but I don’t bother. Keep damp. They’ll come through within the fortnight.

8. More Seed sowing?

   You are insatiable! I caution you not to sow too much unless you have lots of space for growing under cover or know exactly where plants are going and when (don’t know? Join me online for a ‘Winter Planning Class’ if you want to create a plan for your space.) This month, ‘cold’ flowers can be sown, these love a long spell of winter for great root and stem growth - snapdragons are a perfect example. Also sow Iceland poppies, cerinthe and calendula. I won’t be bothering yet though.

   

   Labelling late autumn chrysanthemums. I hope to take cuttings from these in the Spring.

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Harvesting

Shrubs take centre stage - some of my favourites are in flower right now;

Shrubs - Sarcoccoca (cut just a stem or two for indoors, heaven), lonicera ‘winter beauty’, Daphne, Viburnum sinus & v. burkwoodii, winter jasmine. For trees, Pussy Willow and Prunus Autumnalis.

Perennials - Hellebores, cyclamen.

Bulbs - Forced Narcissus indoors and first snowdrops outdoors.

Sarcococca or ‘Christmas Box’ such a pretty but powerful scent to attract pollinators.

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The Walled Garden. I want to bring in more trees and make the space more dynamic this year.

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Take my ‘Winter Online Planning Course’ this January with me, wherever you live.

Hit reply and tell me how you are doing. I love to hear from you. And if you fancy a chat, let’s make some time for it.