Readers’ gardens
The garden is well sheltered by surrounding hedges, and is a veritable suntrap in summer, but it doesn’t escape winter frosts! It’s normal to find the lawns and vegetables glistening with white some mornings, and the beds with a hard crust of soil. However, it’s unusual for the pond to be completely frozen over for more than a week.
It has been a feature for several years, initially filled and planted with oxygenating plants, then left to colonise naturally. We’re just hoping that the considerable populations of newts, frogs, damselflies, water boatmen and beetles emerge unscathed in spring.
I had planned to fill the remaining outdoor containers for spring displays but finding the soil as hard as iron, I’ve put that on hold. The polyanthus can tick over in 7cm (2½in) pots, on benches in the unheated greenhouse, until the temperature rises.
We’d moved two each of our treasured plants (coffee, streptocarpus, citrus, pelargonium, and so on) into the warm conservatory in ‘Noah’s ark’ fashion, the surplus remained under glass where a low of 5C (41F) was recorded. Some survived, some didn’t!
Winter pruning of some shrubs has been completed and resulted in plenty of hardwood stem cuttings. Weigela, escallonia, ribes and the beautifully fragrant Rosa rugosa ‘Roseraie de l’Haÿ’, are lined out in the garden alongside soft fruit cuttings.
Evergreen shrubs and heathers are putting on a great show despite the cold. Understanding scientifically how they cope with freezing temperatures doesn’t lessen the admiration. Sprigs of elaeagnus, euonymus and Aucuba japonica ‘Crotonifolia’ found their way into our wreaths and garlands. They’ll also contribute to indoor arrangements throughout winter.
A daily drama unfolds just beyond the conservatory window where garden birds visit the feeding stations. It may be entertaining for us, but for them it’s a matter of survival!