I often get asked
if this a quiet time for me, I do hibernate (a little bit) during December but by 1st January I am itching for the new year to start. To see roots starting to come back to life and shoots, just beneath the surface, always reassures me and makes me very excited for the year ahead
January sees us rolling up our sleeves,
tidying up both inside and outside the poly tunnel. I aim to run the nursery as sustainably as possible and try to reduce the amount of plastic by reusing our recyclable pots and seed trays as much as possible, they get cleaned and sorted back into size in preparation for the growing season ahead. Any tears in the poly tunnel get cleaned and repaired, we try to get as much of the algae off to improve the light levels... then there is the endless leaves that need gathered and as for the weeds that haven't noticed the freezing night temperatures and are happily reproducing all around the place. I am still cutting back and tidying plants in preparation for this years growth.
I have also been lifting some plants from The Pines
on milder days and dividing them. January isn't necessarily the best month, but they are going into pots rather than back into the ground and will be protected in the poly tunnel until they are showing good signs of growth. Oh an of course the countless Erigeron seedlings that I can help but lift.
In July I moved back to my childhood home, in The Pines, my parents had sold it several years ago. When they moved out I was quite emotional, not just for the house, maybe more so for the garden. They developed the garden together, with a little help from my brother and myself but it was mainly all down to them. There are thousands of bulbs popping up, a great collection of Roses, hardy Geraniums, Bergenia, Japanese Anemones, Hellebores, Acers, Magnolia, Camellias to name a few, oh and a wild Wisteria that is slowly being brought back into shape, photos will follow this year as they all come back to life. I can't wait to see what all is still there and get propagating from them
Wishing all my gardening friends and plant enthusiasts a blooming 2024 x
Victoria x