Pruning is in full swing
Weatherwise, we’ve had it all so far this year. Frost, hail, rain, sleet and snow, most of them accompanied by a bitter wind, but outdoor gardening has still been possible. When the ground was
in the grip of frost, I completed shrub pruning in the ornamental borders without worrying about damage to the soil structure.
We’ve just finished rose pruning. ‘Cécile Brunner’ (the sweetheart rose), ‘Lady Penzance’ (sweet briar), and climbing ‘New Dawn’ were left until last because of their vicious thorns. But they always respond positively to hard pruning, as do the hardy fuchsias.
A lovely old beech hedge was becoming too wide for easy clipping. So, a local tree surgeon team reduced the width on one side. They also pruned a tall birch (Betula pendula) during the process.
We’re still harvesting winter greens and marvelling at the way they sail through severe weather. New potatoes are chitting in trays and onion seedlings have reached the shepherd’s crook stage! Garden peas, broad beans, onion sets and shallots are about to be started off in pots.
Early bulbs are blooming outdoors. Winter aconites, snowdrops and tiny Cyclamen coum are looking good in groups alongside various Erica carnea cultivars that line the driveway. Indoors, forced hyacinths and daffodils are putting smiles on faces. There are more developing in the cold greenhouse for continuity. A vase of forsythia, currant and willow twigs, brought in from the cold with plump flower buds, are currently breaking into bloom.
Birds keep demanding more seed, peanuts and fat balls. Blackbirds are benefitting from last year’s large apple crop but have also found the ophiopogon berries are tasty!
Posting podcasts online during lockdown has been okay but not as invigorating as weekly broadcasting live on local radio. I’ve also missed taking tours of Alnwick Poison Garden. So, it was stimulating to address a 20-strong group of gardeners via a Zoom presentation last week.