Just a quick reflection on what’s been happening in the garden in the first quarter of the year and some of my spring projects and gardening adventures. Each month below has a side-scrolling gallery to explore…
January
JANUARY — Tidying up, taking stock, making plans. Winter pruning of the pear, fig and roses. Moving and dividing plants. Giving the box topiary a bit more space.
Cyclamen coum. I underplanted one of my roses with a few ‘sowbreads’ last year. They turned out to be a perfect partners as the roses are bare and pruned when the cyclamen are out. Enchanting! (I think I’m going to order some more…)Mid-January, I carried out the winter prune of the pear and fig. You can see on this pear quite a lot of thin shoots — they all needed clipping back. I then redid all the ties and shaved the top growth back in line with the fence.The Christmas box (Sarcococca confusa) has started flowering — and smelling divine. It will go on for weeks. It’s one of those quiet, unassuming plants that you appreciate more each year.My dwarf Butcher’s broom (Ruscus aculeatus ‘John Redmond’ had ten times as many berries last year. Not sure what it is that makes the difference.Towards the end of the month I set about pruning all of the shrub roses. They are pretty easy — just cut back to about 2ft. It’s the tidying up around them that takes the time!Gloomy weather… thank goodness for the evergreens. I’m minded to add more of the Irish yew to the garden. Part of the box-reduction strategy…. Online orders underway…Single snowdrops. So iconic. I have lots of the double ones too, but you can’t beat nature’s original.This is Camellia ‘Elegant Beauty’, planted in spring 2022. I’m attempting to train it flat on this fence as an espalier or fan. It’s a Williamsii hybrid which have long flexible shoots, so it should be a good candidate.Throughout spring I have been lifting and moving ferns and iris that are growing too close to my box topiary. The aim is to increase light and air circulation, to reduce disease and improve access for treating box moth caterpillar.The cowslips (Primula veris) are starting to flower. The text books say April-May, so it’s about ten weeks early! Although, I think this a hybrid (larger flowers than the species), so that may explain it.This primrose has been in my garden for well over a decade. It has formed a large patch and flowers throughout the winter. It is paler than the species, almost white in photographs.
February
FEBRUARY — It was the wettest February on record. But I still got a lot done in the garden. Including some major renovation to the Woodland Garden before the apple trees got into growth. Also, pruning, training and tidying up. Oh, and some new structural planting.
My main project this month was replacing the timber railings that run around two sides of my Woodland Garden. These fences carry espalier and step-over apples. I’m pleased with the result. Much smarter!As ever, Hellebores were the stars of the woodland garden. This year, though, I discovered several new seedlings. (See article about them here)Redcurrant fan – I gave it a tidy up, pruned and tied-in the canes neatly.The pond had a spring clean – mainly skimming off pond weed and cutting back old marginal plants. The plastic Heron is to deter the real one. Apparently, it needs laying down occasionally so it looks sick.The Cyclamen coum are looking even better as the month goes on. I have ordered 6 more from RHS plants, but they’re delayed until March.I spent a couple of days pruning and training the climbing roses. This is a climbing Iceberg rose on the end of the woodshed.The crocuses are up in my ‘Lasagna’ bulb pots next to the front door. Under them are tulips and alliums to keep the display going all spring.This bowl of layered bulbs is several years old, and re-flowers well. In the summer Allium ‘Millennium’ dominates. In the autumn a few bedding cyclamen are tucked in to keep it interesting.The columnar Irish Yews arrived late this month, along with four yew balls. I have planted some of them in this bed which already has white roses in it. The topiary here now has no Buxus — so no box moth or blight to fight!I leave the pruning of Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’ until the beginning of March as the old seed heads remain quite beautiful all through winter……See how beautiful they are? Lovely. I told you so. Anyhow… I’ve cut them down now to about 2ft 6in (75cm) ready for the buds to break.I got a couple of climbing Iceberg roses from Crocus in their sale. They are going to replace two small-leaved Ilex that I have tried in vain to train on the side of my workshop. The Ilex weren’t having it, so they’re out, and the roses are in……Here’s one of the roses freshly planted on the north-west facing wall of my workshop. I think Iceberg will manage in this shady part of my White Garden, where currently, there are very few summer flowers.
March
MARCH — Organising the tool shed. Beginning the Green Roof re-planting. Cleaning and re-sanding the garden paths. Adding new roses and columnar yews.
One of my late-opening hellebores — a Picotee variety I added last year — looking beautiful. Some of my decade-old hellebores appear to have bad black-spot, or something worse. I’ve sprayed them with a fungicide and I’ll keep an eye on them.As part of my drive to get non-box based topiary in my garden I ordered two Osmanthus burkwoodii root-balled plants. Here is one of them. I’m planning to train them as multi-stem domes.One project this month was planting the green roof. First, I decided to add a second weed mat over the first. Then I planted some heather, helianthemum and more of the golden sedges. I’ll add a few more shrubs later in the month.The white starflower Ipheon ‘Alberto Castillo’ — is an absolute star (!) in the White Garden right now. It flowers for weeks and even the foliage looks good. I have it in pots and in the ground. Going to plant more of it I think.In the South-East facing border in front of the greenhouse, some ‘Purissima’ tulips have arrived early. They are flowering here with Starflowers. Nice.I have planted a group of three Irish Yews in my White garden, close to the house. These will link to the existing Irish yew and introduce more verticals elements into the design. (Also, they will gradually hide that downpipe!)A task I’ve been meaning to get around to for a couple of years: cleaning and reorganising my tool shed. This shed is part of my garden Workshop (details here). Above here is my Green Roof…… It’s a bit of a luxury to have such a dry, clean shed! As you can see, I don’t actually have many tools, and only use a push-along mower. The towel is really helpful for wiping hands quickly.One of the more long-winded jobs I undertook this year, was weeding and re-sanding the brick paver paths. I used a screwdriver to remove moss and weeds from the joints. There is quite a lot of brick path, so it took some time.…but I think it is worth it, don’t you? By the way, simply spraying off the weeds, then brushing new kiln-dried sand in the joints gets you 3/4 of the way there. The dead moss gradually builds up though, so eventually you’ve got to bite the bullet.
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2 thoughts on “Garden diary — Spring 2024”
Your Spring 2024 garden diary is a wonderful glimpse into the season’s growth and beauty! It’s inspiring to see your updates and how your garden evolves. Thanks for sharing your journey and the progress of your plants!
Your Spring 2024 garden diary is a wonderful glimpse into the season’s growth and beauty! It’s inspiring to see your updates and how your garden evolves. Thanks for sharing your journey and the progress of your plants!
Thank you Oruna. It’s comments like this that encourage me to write more posts!