My gardening diary
MONDAY
When we got to the end of cu ing back perennials and grasses (we couldn’t leave them any longer because the emerging snowdrops were struggling to see the light) the cut material filled two huge compost bays. Much of it was very coarse so Ma went to work with a powerful shredder. This should help it to rot faster.
TUESDAY
Our Magnolia stellata, which I realise must be more than 40 years old, has made a grand tree. It stands at the top of a low wall and has decided to spread its south facing branches so that they cascade gracefully over the wall. There are murmurs about it obstructing easy passage on the terrace below but that has to be weighed against the glorious spectacle it will make in a few months time. Summer pruning is best anyway so its branches are granted a reprieve.
WEDNESDAY
Clearing the lower raised beds outside the shed, several pots of erythroniums came to light in the undergrowth! They’re alive and their canine tooth-shaped bulbs (hence Erythronium dens-canis) were trying to escape through drainage holes in the pots. Now they’ve been released and gone to ground alongside their brethren. We’ll enjoy their reflexed, fairy’s hat flowers this spring.
THURSDAY
Brick paths in the Brick Garden are being treated to a pressure wash, which will hopefully remove not only moss and liverwort but also a wealth of bi ercress that almost looks like green grout. When all the dross is removed we’ll sweep in clean sand.
FRIDAY
High winds or, more correctly, gales, have given our young prunus ‘Hally Jolive e’, a slight lean to starboard. It will be helped to retain a more upright stance by using a tree tie to secure its lower trunk to a short stake, hammered in at a 60 degree angle. It’s one of the pre iest early-flowering trees.
SATURDAY
A score or more of new seedlings have sprung up in two large pots which contained Cerinthe
major ‘Purpurascens’. The original plants were pulled out but if we carefully separate the seedlings and pot them individually, we should have enough chunky plants to fill several containers next spring. Though the pots are outside now, we’ll keep the young plants in the tunnel to protect them and give them a fighting chance.
SUNDAY
New shoots from the first tulips are just beginning to show. Since it’s such a wet winter, their pots are being dressed with extra grit to try and ensure they don’t rot. It’ll also provide sharp drainage around the emerging shoots.