Grey,wet and horrible, not quite what I had hoped for my first day back . However I did find some real gems. Melianthus major and Viburnam bodnantense Dawn in what was a rare blue sky moment. My mantra continues to be ” I love being a gardener ” only occasionally through gritted teeth, it can sound more like “keep on going Sal, mind over matter..”
Several gardens have disappeared for a winter break . In one respect I quite like leaving gardens to their own devices for a month or two. However I know I will be unable to contain myself and will need to pop in, the thought of missing snowdrops, cyclamen, or crocus and the odd dinosaur would be sacrilege.
I thoroughly admit to enjoying a spot of heavy-duty winter pruning. My R.H.S. pruning guide is never far from my side – it is an indispensible book . I possess two copies – one for home and a mud encrusted one for practical day use.
Gardening during Winter provides the opportunity to alter borders. As I prune, lop and saw it helps to clarify my future horticultural intentions. This year I fully intend to make wide linear spaces that will wind their way right through and around as many borders as I can, then to fill those spaces with massive bands of colour coordinated hardy annuals. Top of my contender list at the moment are hardy annual poppies – in particular Ladybird , Blackcurrant Fizz, and Corn Poppy mixed with Scabiosa atropurpurea Ace of Spades . To top this the perennial Knautica macedonia with its long lasting deep purple pin cushion head like flowers will hopefully look stunning whilst the annuals are forming their flower heads.
In addition winter gardening provides the opportunity to re- find all those perennials that I thought would add something , only to find that they had been squashed out by the giant perennials that I love to use. My main contenders for squashing are Cephalaria gigantica, Achillea millifolium, Acanthus spinosus , Globe Artichokes, and Helianthus Lemon Queen. It is my full intention this year to move smaller plants to places where they too can have their time to look and be magnificent. Geum Lemon Drops is one that springs to mind, it is a delight to the eye – well that is when I have provided it with sufficient space to be seen and heard.
I saw some great seeds – Helianthus laetiflorus and Helianthus maximillani last night in my Thompson and Morgan catalogue, along with some fantastic looking black flowers – Lisianthus nigresens. My little black note-book is filling fast with potential inclusions. I just need to curb my enthusiasm for propagation . I have not even started to think about veg and salad yet for 2014 – better make it a round 50 to sow. I am also rather partial to the Sarah Raven catalogue and Nickys Seeds .
I realise that I do tend to use the word “love” a great deal whilst writing. So checking my Oxford English Dictionary and Roget thesaurus I am looking and thinking about new ways to describe how being a gardener makes me feel. Apart from loving it , sometimes it is wet, and has the capacity to make me shout out loud – particularly when I have pinged myself with a twig, or fallen into a large shrub rose. It is mainly a completely joyous and serotonious experience ( I have checked the dictionary and suprisingly serotonious does not exist – well not till now any way..) Sometimes gardening for me at least is beyond physical words, I just love it. .
I hope that whatever your size of garden, whether it runs farther than the eye can see, or is a postage stamp balcony, or window cill that you all have a brilliant and adventurous gardening 2014, whatever you do, just enjoy, you might even get to love it.
Sally Wicks 