Late winter gardening
Sue Fisher is a garden designer and writer based on the Bere Peninsula
With environmental topics like wildlife and waste so much in the news, becoming a more eco-friendly gardener is a great resolution with which to start the gardening year. Even small actions can make a huge difference if we all do something, and so often these can be of benefit to our gardens and bank balances too: a real win-win situation all round. Composting is the perfect illustration: regular readers will know I’m hugely enthusiastic about recycling all garden waste as well as composting food waste in wormeries, creating a wonderful nutrient-rich soil improver which also gives a huge boost to the biodiversity of the soil. More worms, more birds, healthier plants.
Rubbish can be seen in a whole new light from the gardener’s point of view. Anything that can hold compost and have drainage holes made in it can become a plant container: like hot water tanks hacksawed in half, old baths and shower trays, baskets, galvanised buckets – even toilets. Recycle cardboard and lay newspaper in thick layers to make weed-suppressing mulch; use pieces of nylon tights for plant ties; large jars and plastic bottles make mini-cloches and slug guards; plastic punnets make excellent seed trays or pots. These are just a few examples – there are plenty more.
With wildlife in mind, avoid harmful chemicals and use an environmentally friendly alternative – the choice is increasing fast, with many more options coming on the market. Or tolerate a little nibbling to some extent – many ‘pests’ are food for birds and other creatures, after all. Our garden plants can be fantastic sources of food, but which plants to choose and how to combine them makes a massive difference. The latest RHS study Plants for Bugs can be found online at www.rhs.org.uk/plants4bugs and makes fascinating reading, along with recommended plants at www.rhs.org.uk/perfectfor pollinators.
Best wishes for a happy gardening year.
Seasonal jobs
Buy First Early potatoes and set to ‘chit’ or sprout in a cool, frost-free, well-lit spot. If you have under-cover space like a greenhouse or polytunnel, plant a few tubers now in large containers or bags to enjoy the delicious gourmet treat of spring new potatoes.
On a warm, well-lit windowsill, the first seeds of the season can be sown. These include frost-tender veg like tomatoes and cucumbers, and half-hardy annuals that need a long growing season such as tobacco plant and petunia.
Cut back the dead growth of deciduous ornamental grasses and herbaceous perennials before new shoots emerge. Tie in bundles and stuff in out-of-sight spots under hedges or overhanging shrubs as wildlife homes, and an excellent source of bird nest material.
Prune winter jasmine as soon as it’s finished blooming. Clematis that flower later in summer can be cut hard back now, but don’t touch spring-flowering ones or you’ll take off this season’s flowering growth.
Looking good now
Crocus, snowdrops and winter aconites are the first wave of a magnificent succession of spring bulbs. Create swathes of blooms almost anywhere – under trees and shrubs, naturalised in grass, on rockeries or in pots.
The earliest perennials include pulmonaria, bergenia (elephant’s ears) and hellebores – all tough, easily grown, and happy in shade or sun. The marbled leaves of Arum italicum ‘Marmoratum’ give a real lift to shady spots.
Dogwoods and shrubby willows with coloured stems have looked great since autumn, but the strengthening sunlight intensifies their colours even further.
Camellias start to become smothered in sumptuous blooms: pinks, reds, white, even creamy-yellow and striped. Fingers crossed that late frosts don’t spoil the show.
Favourite plant
There are hundreds of varieties of Narcissus - the botanical term for all the daffodil family that bloom from late winter right to the end of spring - but this name is often used just for those that bear several small heads of bloom on one stem. They are much more garden-worthy in my opinion, standing up well to wind and rain, and often beautifully scented too. Once widely grown commercially all around the Tamar Valley, they are still a glorious spring sight in the banks, woods and fields.
Sue’s top tips
Thrifty: Many perennials and ornamental grasses can be propagated by division straight away if you buy good-sized plants that can be divided into at least two or three clumps. Also, dahlia tubers can be potted now and started into growth under cover, then take cuttings from the new shoots in a month or so.
Wildlife: Plant at least some of the bulbs and perennials blooming now: these early flowers are a life-saving source of food for bees just emerging from hibernation.
‘Green’: Buying local is better for the environment: less distance is travelled, and it avoids the ever-increasing threat of imported pests and diseases. Around here there are lots of excellent nurseries and small garden centres that either grow their own stock or use local suppliers.
Time saving: Sort through patio pots, tubs and hanging baskets, and give them a thorough clean as algae and mould build up over time. Now’s a good time to buy new containers too, so you can plan what to grow this year.
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