Happy new year, and if this is your first visit to my blog, a very warm welcome! You haven't missed much on here over the last year, so my resolve for 2022 is to post something at least twice a month, starting with a brief checklist of jobs. Here are this month's suggestions.
Shrubs, and flowering plants;
This is a good time of year to prune deciduous shrubs whilst they are dormant, and you can see the branch and stem structure;
Prune apple and pear trees this month. Have a look at this earlier blog post for a few tips on older, neglected trees;
Tidy away dead foliage of herbaceous plants, if it is looking tatty or diseased. Remember though; leaving old seed heads can provide much needed food for birds, and upright stems also make an important visual contribution to the structure of a winter garden;
Hellebores, or lenten roses, are one of the few star flowering plants during January. Make sure you tidy away any dead foliage to give the blooms optimal opportunity to show themselves;
If the soil is not too wet or frozen, now is a good time to plant bare-root shrubs or trees. If you are on a tight budget, it is worth noting that it is much more economical to source shrubs bare-rooted than container grown;
Protect the soil from compaction; don't work or walk on it whilst it is wet, and use planks to access harder-to reach beds or borders.
Fruit and veg;
Force rhubarb for early, pink tender stems, by covering with an upturned pot or bucket;
Prune apple and pear trees;
Clean out your plant pots and seed trays (and green house if you have one) with hot water and citrox;
Enjoy poring over seed catalogues and planning what you might grow and where, this year. Try and buy from local independent garden centres or suppliers if you can.
Gardening alongside nature;
Keep bird-feeders topped up. Have a look at this post on feeding birds;
Leave out some water in a shallow dish for birds. Make sure it doesn't freeze over by popping in a couple of ping-pong balls;
Clean out nesting boxes ready for spring;
If you use grit and rock-salt to keep paths and drives free of ice, keep it away from plants and soil.
Don’t let the January Blues get to you. If you aim to go out and spend just fifteen or twenty minutes in the garden, I promise you'll feel better for it. You never know, you may even end up staying out there longer.
