Winter Gardening

Sitting down at the computer, looking out of the window, I can see the next bout of winter weather coming in to hit us. The days are still short, typical of a bleak mid-winter period.

All is not lost though, the days are starting to lengthen out, and the sun, when it shines, is starting to feel warmer on your back. The promise of things to come looks more imminent. At this stage, I always plan what I need to do to bring the garden back to life.

One of the first tasks is to prune back last years growth on the hardy perennials, dig out last year’s summer bedding and have a general tidy up in the garden. I started doing my garden last week, and I was very pleasantly surprised to see all the bulbs are starting to pop up from the soil, full of promise for the flowering season ahead. I cannot wait to see the volley of yellow flowers pop out, showing the spring has finally arrived. We are a few weeks away from that at the moment though. Wishful thinking.

One of the winter tasks worth doing though, is to prepare the flower beds of planting. My father always used a two tine fork to do this. Great big clods of soil would be turned over, and left to weather down. Once the clods of soil have been exposed to frost, the water in the soil freezes, expands, and then dries out. The result, you end up with a fine tilth of soil which is ideal to plant into.

We use a two time fork, as it is easy to insert into the soil, it lifts a large clod, while minimising the disturbance to the soil profile. It also minimises the disturbance to the gardeners friend and ally, the humble earthworm. This little workforce unseen, will act to incorporate organic matter into the soil, as they move through the soil profile, they create pathways which allow drainage to improve, and most importantly, allow air to enter the soil to keep the root profile aerated. Healthy roots do need access to air to maintain their health.

Whilst forking the soil over, it is also a good idea to incorporate organic matter into the soil. Organic matter will break down to create a gentle source of nutrients for the spring planting period. I know it is a lot of work, but it is certainly worth the effort. It is also very satisfying to see what you have done. If you have a garden bonfire, it is always worth spreading the ash over the soil before you dig, the ash is full of potash, (potassium Nitrate). There will also be the other trace elements, essential for good plant health and vigour. Nothing should be wasted, if you box clever.

Hopefully you will see the effects of frost action in a few weeks. Once the soil has become crumbly, you should be able to break down the clods to create a fine crumbly tilth ready for planting.

If like me, you are itching to start planting, there are always frost hardy plants which you can plant, to give you an immediate splash of colour. Primroses, pansies, saxifraga, aubrieta and Viola, are all genera worth considering, as they are frost hardy.

The surrounding soil around the roots protect them from being damaged by frost. Don’t plant them too deep, just to the height of the plant base. Firm the soil, so that there is a good connection with the soil profile. Put a light dressing of organic fertiliser around the plant, and they will have every chance of establishing well.

By its nature, the winter period experiences high humidity levels, that is it is always raining or snowing. On going management for these plants comprises regular dead heading, just pinch the old flowers off, to leave a heathy plant underneath. By doing this, and making sure there is a steady supply of fertiliser available, you should be rewarded with a steady stream of now flowers well into the late spring period. When you plant these plants, it is essential that you don’t over crowd them. I always plant on a triangle, in threes. By doing this, you give the plants enough space to bush out, and grow into a clump. This will maximise ground cover, which in turn will generate you a really nice show of flowers.

If you are planting a scheme up, you may come across the term architectural plants. These refer to plants that have a higher growth habit than the surrounding plants. So if you are planning a scheme in the middle of the garden, the tall plants should be planted in the middle of the bed, the lower plants on the outside. So when the plants mature, you should see a gentle slope of flowers rising to the middle of the bed. If you are planting along a wall, put the higher plants to the back of the bed, the lower plants to the front. The other bonus of planting alongside a wall, is that you will get some natural frost protection from the wall, particularly if the wall is south facing. The wall heats up during the day, and then radiates heat out during the night.

Hopefully these few ideas will enable you to make a start to the gardening year. A little effort now will yield loads of pleasure and satisfaction over the coming growing season. Have fun, do a little at a time, and often, so that the workload wont seem to be too onerous.

Happy gardening.

Yours truly, Tony Rowland.