Just a quick reminder of things you can crack on with now to get a head start on the garden.
January is often seen as a month where there is nothing to do in the garden but far from it, theres a myriad of important jobs to do AND theres advantages to getting outside at this time of year.
Pruning
Roses, wisteria, figs, apples and pears all benefit from a winter prune and this can be done right up till the sap starts to rise. Traditionally this was often march but these days you cant rely on that. Start this job on a crisp, cold, sunny January day and you wont get caught out.
Each plant has different needs and its worth making sure you’re approaching this in the correct way…. that said there are a million “Correct” ways and each gardeners will be subtly different to the next. Naturally the only really correct way is, of course, my way but a good rule of thumb is to check if the plant you are planning on pruning flowers on new or old wood. Make sure your secatuers/saws are sterile, clean and sharp. Pick a day when the risk of a really penetrating frost is low.
A “how to” prune Wisteria can be found here
And a few videos I’ve made about apple pruning which may be helpful can be found here …. and here.
Sadly 2020’s ripples are still affecting this years plans so our usual Apple Pruning workshops have had to be cancelled. However we have everything crossed that we can start up again in early winter of 2021, I’ll keep you all posted on that!
Roses, especially climbing roses can be a beautiful challenge, you can become exceptionally artistic with these bare bones.
Mulching
This is possibly one of the most important jobs you can do in a garden. It helps your soil retain water during the summer months, It improves the soils flora and fauna. Tiny brandling worms help to break down any compost, larger worms pull the organic matter below the surface. Nutrients are slowly released to your plants AND!! You dont even need to dig it in!
You can pile your mulch up quite deeply, a good 2 inches, Its best done on a frost free day and if you’re lucky you might still get a few of those in January, February is usually the coldest! A few plants wont thank you for a deep mulch though, trees dont like it piled up against the base of the trunk. Make tree circles bigger than you think then make donuts of mulch around the trunk. Peonys HATE being mulched and will have a proper sulk if their tuberous crowns are covered up. The same with Nerines and Agapanthus who will rot given half the chance.
Most herbaceous perennials will love you for it though!
If your compost heaps are still too young for this try turning them more often. You can also order in a delivery of Green waste from your local council or landscape materials supplier. I’ve been using this stuff for around 10 years now and its marvellous.
Supporting Structures
This is your opportunity to make sure your perennials dont fall over next summer. If you have access to coppiced hazel this is such a treat, you can create attractive structures that will last 2 or sometimes 3 years like the ones below.
Sometimes you can find someone clever at welding who can create bespoke structures for your garden, if you do treat them like gold dust as they are invaluable!
Planning!
Plans are never under rated, yes you can wing it but only if you have enough plants to do that with and that takes a bigger budget than most of us have. With good planning you can look back over your records, see what did and didn’t work. How many plants it took to fill an area and how much it cost.
Theres a reason you get taught how to draw to scale when you get taught garden design and its not because theyre trying to pad the course out.
In a vegetable garden, unless you have an excellent memory, records are your ally. Even if your record keeping is only photos.
So sit down with a couple of seed catalogues, a mug of hot chocolate and if you have a roaring fire that too. Work out what you need, then what you want, then your budget. Somewhere in the middle of that is your plan for 2021!
