Lucy’s Garden Journal – January

January is such a nice month in the garden in many ways. There may be a lulling of growth, but it means no weeding is to be done. I rather enjoy the stillness of it all as you wait for spring’s growth to soon follow.

Perhaps I might do some final cutting back where needed to encourage newness to sprout. I’ve found in Hellebore areas I have needed to do this where the old leaves need ridding.

Otherwise, I am mainly mulching and frost proofing wherever possible. I’m repeatedly mulching my dahlias and the birds appear to love it. I keep finding them digging and flapping about, looking for grubs I wonder? Before I know it, I’m out again making more mulched mounds. I should probably hang a shiny CD there or something to dissuade them but I can’t bring myself to!

We’re also trying to encourage smaller birds into the garden, especially in the terraced part of the garden that we look out onto from the kitchen. So far, we’ve counted a little wren – how fitting! – a few blackbirds and two robins who pop by each morning.

Later this month my long-awaited glasshouse should begin to be constructed, but until then, I’ve also sewn my very first sweet peas that the team brought me for Christmas from Grace Alexander in the cottage. I’ve had to put them on the window ledge in the spare bedroom and they’re actually looking somewhat leggy already, maybe too leggy in fact. I recall Arthur Parkinson writing about leggy sweet peas last spring so I must revisit his advice.

One other brief mention goes to my new bulbs. They were of course potted many months ago but I see already signs of spring appearing from hyacinth heads to delicate snowdrops. And how encouraging it is to see and feel spring approaching – it is things like this that cheer us all on at present.

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