A New Year means a new list of things to do in the garden
It may be winter, and we may be enjoying the festive season, says our expert Agnes Stevenson, but that ugly wisteria still needs to be removed and replaced
It has been a momentous week. Somehow, amid the festivities, the contents of the giant compost heap have been spread out across the borders, adding structure and nutrients to the soil.
Now that the top corner of the garden is no longer dominated by a towering pile of grass clippings and hedge prunings, I need to decide what to put in its place.
Should I fill it with shrubs? Create another seating area? Plant a tree to disguise the telephone pole that sits in the corner? I’m tempted to use the new Mahonias that are still in pots on the patio to create a corner that will stand out on drab days. Whatever I end up planting here is in for a treat as, after years of serving as the dumping ground for garden waste, the soil is some of the best that we have.
And then there’s the business of finding a new spot for the compost, one that doesn’t involve carrying garden waste up a steep slope and where the heap doesn’t dominate the view from the house.
These are all projects for the New Year, along with finally getting round to removing the wisteria. Now anyone who feels that this is an act of horticultural vandalism is welcome to come round and view my specimen.
It is not a thing of beauty. In winter it is a mad tangle of stems and in summer it blocks the path up the side of the house, producing seldom more than a single flower.
No matter how I prune it, it fails to improve and while it’s a favourite nesting spot for birds, it is one giant thorn in my side.
And there’s another reason why it has to go. The ground beneath it is riddled with ground elder and if I’m going to stop this spreading, the whole border will have to come out.
I already have a collection of lovely things to put in its place, including a climbing rose, a winter clematis and half a dozen peonies.
With the wisteria out of the way, there may even be room for the winter flowering jasmine that’s been homeless since I bought it. Planted together, these would provide year-round pleasure.
If you have plans to plant a wisteria, then bare in mind that it is a beast. It wants to romp, can take many years from planting until it produces the first flowers and it needs pruning twice a year.
You can keep it small and I’ve seen some wisterias grown as standards, but it’s a bit like clipping an eagle’s wings and then wondering why it doesn’t seem quite so magnificent.
So if I’ve got one gardening resolution for 2020, it’s to keep in mind that well-worn adage “right plant, right place”.