Dig in now for the new season
HAPPY NEW YEAR – AND HERE’S TO ANOTHER 12 MONTHS OF GLORIOUS GARDENING. BUT DON’T GET TOO COMFY... THERE’S PLANNING TO DO
NEW Year is a time to take stock – and nowhere more so than in the garden, where everything is quiet and seemingly fast asleep.
But not for long. Soon the snowdrops will be up, with the daffodils hot on their heels.
The thing to do is prowl around and see where you can make improvements.
Don’t say, “I’m not going out there until spring, that’ll be soon enough”.
Get out there now and by spring you’ll have made the improvements your garden needs so that it can grow away, ready for the new season.
Make a list of all those parts of the garden that aren’t really working – a shady patio, an overgrown border, a broken gate or bench – and do something about them.
I already sound like a bully but you know it makes sense, and in this period of rest and relaxation what better way of slimming down the Christmas waistline a little?
But take it easy. If you’re going to dig over the veg patch (a great idea except if the soil is frozen or too sticky) do it in bursts of 15 minutes at a time. Don’t go at it for an hour, or you’ll do your back in.
Perk up your patio with a few new containers, banishing those that have either fallen apart or which just look dreary.
Remember, a few large containers always look more stylish than lots of smaller ones, and they don’t dry out so quickly in summer.
Add in some evergreens and winter-flowering heathers to give them seasonal beauty, and smarten up the area generally by pressure-washing the paving before you move the containers back.
Scrappy, overgrown borders are best renovated in early March, but set about planning what you will replace the oldies with now, and order the plants you’re going to need.
Seed orders, too, are best made out before the rush. If you wait until March, the varieties you need may well be sold out – order now and you’ll get the pick of the crop. When the seeds arrive, keep them in a cool, dark place.
You see, it’s not all hard slog. With a glass at your side and a warm fire in front of you, this is the time to dream. Come spring, those dreams might well be reality – if you take the trouble to undertake a little forward planning and a modicum of hard graft.