January.
What a contrast to last January. I've been amazed at the amount of plants that either haven't stopped growing or have begun to flower early. With things being the way that they are, you could do worse than to take the opportunity to kick start your gardening for this year. Don't be fooled though. This ISN'T spring. Without wishing to be a killjoy, we have the potential for snow, rain, frost and all kinds of winter weather for the next two or three months, so only plan to do what's sensible! So, what's to do.......
Planning.
What do you want to grow? Flowering plants? vegetables? Whether you've a window box or two acre patch, it's always a good idea to spend a little time thinking about such things. Remember your limitations, in time, expertise, space - and money!! Narrow your choices by playing yes/no.
Veggies?
No? Move on.
Yes? what do you like? How much space have you? Salad veg are good for small spaces, as are cherry tomato plants. We shall be growing moneymaker, and a yellow one called' Sun Gold'. In our opinion, it has the best flavour of all!
Try a potato in a carrier bag. It is possible to buy seed potatoes in small quantities, so give it a go! It is possible to grow enough veg to feed a family in a 2m by 2m patch, they tell me. Choose what you like, check the packets to make sure that you get food in succession, and off you go. One tip -don't grow too many of any variety at one time. You'll get a glut. Don't ask how I know....
Flowering plants.
There are enough books about garden design to fill several garden centres. this isn't the place to discuss such things. Buy the plants that you like, but try to keep some sort of order. Also, if you can, buy more than one of each variety. Go for an odd number - three or five is good. That way, you can group them and your patch won't look like a flower zoo. the things to bear in mind are your favourite colour, size and flowering time. Again, try to go for a range of plants to give you flowers for as long as possible. Annuals are what they say that they are, perennials the same. If you need help, contact us Advice is free!
Practical.
Have a walk round. If it needs a tidy, then do it. Watch out though for hedgehogs and other hibernators. If you can, leave small heaps undisturbed. Weed if you need to, and divide up perennials if they've got too big. It's a good time to move plants now. Dig a hole where they're to go, dig round the plants, gently lift it with soil if you can, and move. Water it in, fill the hole and go away. it's that simple. Generally, the plant will recover and grow. Keep an eye on it int the spring, and keep it watered when it begins to grow. The plant will be busily generating new roots to replace the ones you've damaged moving it.
Keep crud off of the grass. it hates it at this time of the year, and needs all the light it can get. Try to stay off it when it's covered in frost.
Prune apple and pear trees. Quite a lot os trees and shrubs can be pruned now, but check first if you can. Some plants grow on last year's wood, and you could cut off the potential spring blossom!
Watch out for the birds. They are desperate for food at this time of the year. make sure that they have water too!
If you're the DIY kind, now is a good time to paint fences while there aren't so many leaves about, or to do any hard landscaping so that it can settle in before the garden begins to grow.
Finally, go and visit some winter gardens to get some inspiration. Anglsey Abbey is a good one, and looks particularyl good when the snowdrops are out.
Make sure that you enjoy those rare sunny winter days when the promise of spring hangs in the air!