My gardening diary
MONDAY
At the start of a Chinese New Year, there’s always a feeling of optimism. Because it’s a lunar calendar and the moon has such an influence on the way in which plants grow and on all the water that covers so much of our planet, as a gardener it feels important. It’s the year of the Earth Dog. Happy New Gardening Year to you all!
TUESDAY
We’re trying to make up our minds about where to make two new paths that‘ll eventually lead you from this garden out into the field beyond when it starts to become the new garden. Because the hedge has been laid, we’ll have to take out a few of the native trees used to make it. Disentangling branches will be time-consuming but it’ll all be worth it to open vistas new!
WEDNESDAY
In some of the beds in the shady areas to the west of the track that runs through the garden, patches of blue are beginning to break through the dark soil. The flowers of chionodoxa, scilla and puschkinia paint an optimistic picture in the midst of bare, dark February.
THURSDAY
Perhaps I sow too many seeds. Once they’re sown and they’ve germinated, it’s my responsibility to look after them, to prick them out and pot them on. Perhaps sowing half as many seeds of cosmos, zinnias and larkspur might be the solution. There would still be the same joy when those li le green shoots first appear.
FRIDAY
Have you found that plants are behaving in mysterious ways this year? Instead of opening all at a similar time, some of our hellebores are just appearing, while others are fully open, posing some problems when trying to cross pollinate them. There are still plenty of possibilities though, so it’s best to concentrate on them.
SATURDAY
Camassias are springing up everywhere, often in very tight clumps. I wonder what would happen if we lifted a few, separated them and replanted them a few inches apart?
SUNDAY
I was very remiss about protecting some of the young plants we grew last year. One batch of Geranium pratense destined to add extra blue in our brick garden (otherwise known as the blue and yellow garden), have spent the entire winter si ing outside in a module tray, but this is a tough plant and as I lever them out of their compartments, it’s obvious they haven’t minded a bit, especially as they can now stretch out their roots in new compost.