Head Gardener's Diary - January
It’s another frosty January morning, makes you wonder what happened to global warming! We are having a brambling and pruning session around the entrance area. The students came out last week and cut back all the Cornus in the Winter bed so we have been tidying either side of this – along the Salvia bed at the back of the entrance, right round to the gate; and in the other direction we have reached the brambles and holly seedlings on the right hand side of the pond. If the weather stays frosty we hope to clear through the Autumn bank and clear along the fence line here.
The best thing about the frost is that the sky is clear and there is plenty of sunshine, even though the air is cold. I was walking back from the walled garden yesterday with the sun on my back and my back was getting quite warm. It also makes the Garden look quite stunning with the sun shining on the frost.
When the students came out they also cut down a large section of the Cornus along the front of the Demonstration garden in the centre of the Harris Garden. This will encourage new shoots which are always brighter red, so should look very good next Autumn and Winter – we are hoping to finish off the front of this area as far as the New Woods, as the students ran out of time (and probably energy as well – this is quite a physically demanding task). Next year, they will do the area to the right of the gate and round to the formal gardens.
The pansies I planted in October in the formal garden had all but disappeared before Christmas as they were being eaten by pigeons, but since their initial feast they seem to have left them alone so I am hoping they will recover as the weather improves. We are still continuing with the New Woods slowly but surely when the weather is suitable. When it’s not, I have been sorting through the new seeds ready for sowing this coming spring, looking forward to the warm weather and everything growing again.
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