And just like that, it’s January in our garden again. It feels like ages since I last posted a garden update, having missed out December completely for the first time since I started my gardening blogs. But in truth, there wasn’t a whole lot going on and I spent very little time outside. Partly due to pressures of work and partly because the weather was so atrociously wet. But a couple of weeks off over Christmas, and some better weather, have made all the difference. So, what’s going on in our garden this month?
What’s flowering this January?
Surprisingly, rather a lot! I’ll have to put that down to the relatively mild – albeit very wet – weather over the last few weeks. Plants that I’d normally expect to succumb to frost, well, they haven’t. So we have some welcome splashes of colour from the purple Jacob’s Ladder and our rooted-through-its-pot red Japanese quince.
The hardiest climbing rose we have is still producing pink blooms – as fast as I prune, more new buds arrive. I wish I could remember what variety she is but her label is long gone, alas. All I know is she’s super prickly! And the perennial pink stocks are still blooming – regular dead heading is key here. Although I didn’t realise these were perennials until I forgot to pull them up last year and discovered they were still blooming happily. Gardening is full of surprises.
Some of our seasonal flowers are the delicate little cyclamen underneath our weeping birch. Cyclamens love a wooded area so they’re very happy where they are in our garden. And some self-sown primroses at the foot of our plum tree have come back again, bigger and better than before.
I’m so thrilled to see what’s quite possibly my favourite winter flower, the humble snowdrop (as you might have seen over on my Instagram). It took me a couple of years to persuade these delicate beauties to establish themselves in our orchard but now they’re well away. Such a treat to see some native wildflowers doing so well
Other traditional winter beauties are the hellebores. I thought I’d lost some of them but once I’d cut away all the old, dead foliage around their bases to get rid of any fungal spores, there were the new buds peeking through. By the end of this month they should be flowering in all their glory, if last year is anything to go by. Fingers crossed.
You might think that Winter means no fragrance but that’s not so. Our gorgeous Daphne odora (cover pic) is very heady on a sunny morning. Sitting on the bench with a cup of tea next to this plant is one of my great pleasures at this time of year. And a couple more heavily scented plants are the winter flowering honeysuckle by our front door and a new purchase, another Sarcococca Confusa (sweet box). For such tiny blooms, they pack a real honey-perfumed punch. Gorgeous, and very welcome during January in our garden.
Outdoor garden jobs for January
Time off over Christmas has meant that I’m actually ahead of the game for the first time in a couple of years. I’ve cut down all the old dead foliage and growth and applied a heavy layer of mulch to insulate and protect this year’s tender new growth. I’m trialling a new mulch, called…. Strulch. (Straw + mulch = Strulch). It’s a soil conditioner too, so when the worms drag it through the earth, it should help to aerate and improve the texture of the soil. Well, that’s the theory anyway. We shall see.
Alan’s finished collecting all the fallen leaves and now our new Spring flowering bulbs are starting to really peek through. It’s a bit challenging to walk around at the moment though, until they start flowering it’s hard to see them and both he and Flora have trodden on a fair few so far…
Our grapevine is looking rather sorry for itself – quite dead in fact – but this is exactly how I treated it last Winter and we were overwhelmed with a bumper grape harvest. I have faith in my pruning methods, even if Alan isn’t so sure 😉
And I’ve cleared out our greenhouse and set up the shelves ready for all the new seeds we’ll be sowing over the next couple of months. Really, who even am I this year? Although one job that I forgot to do last Autumn was tie the sticky grease bands on our plum tree to prevent the winter moth crawling up the trunk and laying eggs. Hopefully, it’s not too late now. There’s nothing more unpleasant than biting into a ripe, juicy plum and finding a little wriggling visitor there already, bleurgh.
Indoor garden jobs for January
Once again, I’m amazingly on top of things: all my seeds have been sorted and any that needed replacing, reordered and arrived. We’ve already sown our sweet peas into plastic Rootrainers (aff link), two to each tube. Sweet peas grow a very long tap root so need a deep tube to prevent them becoming root bound. If you don’t want to use plastic, you could try cardboard toilet rolls instead, although I’ve never managed to keep them intact for long. But our plastic Rootrainers are on their fourth year of use, so I’m not going to feel too guilty about it. Later this month we’ll sow our tomatoes, cucumbers and – a new one for me this year, at Flora’s request – some cucamelons. These look like tiny watermelons and apparently taste like lime-infused cucumbers. Watch this space…
Wildlife
All December and January rain is keeping our ponds topped up with water. We’ve given up saying we’ll clear out the accumulated debris at the bottom because that’s where the frogs and newts hibernate. As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke. They don’t seem to care so why should we?
Flora treated herself (?) to a new bird feeder with some of her Christmas money. Something the garden birds took a while to get used to but now they’re quite happy to come and peck away.
Flora’s garden
Which leads me on to Flora’s garden. Her pond is still home to its frog family and we’re leaving plenty of foliage around the outside for shelter. She’s very (and rightly) proud that her frogs are thriving and showing no signs of wanting to move.
We had a good clear out and weeding session too and her patch is looking much better. She’s also sown some cat grass and some more garlic. And just look at the Madame Alfred Carriere rose plant making its way up the back fence. It’s one that I grew from a cutting in Autumn 2018. It’s the first time I’ve tried to grow a rose from scratch and I’m VERY proud!
January in our garden
So, that’s what’s going on this January in our garden. One thing I should have mentioned, all the plants that are flowering and growing here are perennials. These are bulbs, plants, and shrubs that we’ve planted over the last few years and once they’ve established, they come back year on year. No further effort required apart from some seasonal pruning or dead heading. My perfect garden plants.
The rest of this month will see me doing very little apart from some more seed sowing indoors and a little light pruning and dead heading outside. Time spent in my garden is never wasted. It’s my happy place, my safe space, and where I can really relax. Plus I always have company, as Ginger, our hobo, is also happiest outside. So things are exactly as they should be at this time of year, and very welcome too.
What do you think of our garden this January? What’s going on in your green space this month? What plans have you got for the months ahead?
Your garden is so pretty! Even in the middle of winter when most are relatively quiet. I really need to step up my outdoor garden game this spring, I always love looking at pretty gardens but my own is kind of a mess currently haha
Ah, thank you! Our garden is still a work in progress but it’s getting there. Parts are still a complete mess though, haha 😉
I’m surprised at how much is flowering considering it’s Winter – there’s certainly not much going on in our garden right now! But yes, it has been quite mild and wet hasn’t it? I want some snow! Although when I finally come to visit you this year, I’m staying WELL away from Flora’s pond. I’m scared of frogs hahaha! xxx
I’ve been very surprised by what’s around but I certainly don’t want any snow (although Flora does)! And we’ll get you over your fear of frogs, don’t worry, the babies are super cute!!! Xxx
I always enjoy reading your gardening posts and seeing your lovely photos! The snowdrops are growing quickly. There isn’t much growing our at the garden moment. Thank you for sharing! I look forward to seeing your spring photography. I know my mum wants to sort the back garden out and get some new chickens and hutch! Xxx
Aw, thank you – and how exciting to be getting more chickens. I’d love some too but I don’t know who I could get to look after them when we’re not here, unfortunately! Xxx
That’s a shame lovely xxx
I will have to talk nicely to our neighbours! Xxx
Yeah they are great and the eggs are lovely xxx
On my list then 🙂 xxx
Your garden is looking lovely, I can’t wait for more snowdrops to come up, as then I know spring is on the way 🙂
Nic | Nic’s Adventures & Bakes
Thank you, I do love snowdrops, they are such stalwarts 🙂
Seeing all of this gives me hope of warmer days ahead! I love having snow for Christmas, but now that the holiday season is over, I’m ready for sunshine and warmer temps…
Ah, thank you, that’s a lovely thought to hold on to!
Your garden is absolutely gorgeous! Love your pictures! Your post makes me want to have a garden haha! Technically I have one but it’s definitely not as beautiful as yours. Such a lovely post xx
New Lune | http://new-lune.com
Thank you so much, that’s so kind! It has been a real labour of love – and it’s very much still a work in progress – but it’s worth it to us 🙂 xx
You have a very pretty garden! All those flowers must look so beautiful together, I love the wide range of vibrant colors. I never had a green thumb, but this post makes me want to grown my own little garden ♡
—Athena Christy
https://athenachristy.wordpress.com/
Ah thank you so much. TBH, I’ve been very surprised at how colourful it’s looking so far this year. We’ve been lucky with a mild winter, I think. I hope you do get your own garden too, it’s so much fun!
I’ll try with some potted plants first, see if they’ll survive XD
Good idea – although my indoor plant game is not strong!
What a Lovely garden you have Lisa! I think even the weeds have given up growing in our garden!
After finding our builders pouring excess plaster and water in to our beds as well I think it’ll be a while before my roses recover.
Oh no, that’s terrible, I’m so sorry to read that, your poor roses! I hope you got some compensation or replacement plants at least. Grrrr! x
The garden is my safe space! This is a fantastic read!
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
It’s been so chilly here I haven’t actually been paying much attention to my garden – my lawn needs a big mow! I didn’t realise you could garden this early, but your flowers look absolutely beautiful.
Oh our grass is out of control already, my husband is dreading March, haha. He has to negotiate all our Spring bulbs too, so first cut takes him AGES! Thank you so much, we’ve been lucky with a relatively mild winter, I think 🙂
Oh wow, your garden is so beautiful! All your hard work is really paying off. I’m definitely not a gardener but I love sitting in a nice garden!
Ah, thank you so much, that’s so kind – fingers crossed for a good summer to sit out in ours and enjoy it! 🙂
I don’t have my own garden but I always love watching the flowers bloom. Your garden looks gorgeous! So excited for the warmer weather to actually enjoy my time outside.
Thank you, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a lovely long warm summer too – just not a heatwave!
Love all the beautiful pictures.
Thank you, that’s very kind 🙂
Snowdrops are probably my favourites because they’re normally one of the first things to start showing splashes of colour after a long winter. But looks like you’re getting the colour already considering the mild weather we’ve been having. Love that the frogs are thriving as well – more exciting than my garden. Really enjoyed reading this!
Yes, snowdrops and aconites (which don’t do so well in my garden, alas) are always a welcome sign that spring is coming. I actually heard the frogs the other day too, so exciting, we are very lucky to have them. And thank you, that’s so lovely to hear! X
Your garden is looking as vibrant as ever Lisa. I love that you have snowdrops blooming in your garden, as they’re one of my favourite wild flowers. We like to see the large display of them at Westonbirt this time of year. It’s lovely to see that Florals frogs are doing so well, that photo with the frog on his perch did make me smile. So thank you for that. 😊 I look forward to your next update.
Ah, thank you so much, Kim, that’s so kind of you. In fact, since these photographs were taken, the snowdrops have really started blooming, I need to update the post, haha. Can you believe I still haven’t made it up to Westonbirt? Definitely on my Spring to do list 🙂
Oh wow, you’ve got a lot going on in your garden this month. And lucky Flora with her froggy family – I LOVE frogs and toads but haven’t seen any in our garden for a few months. They’re probably hibernating in their very hidden spot in our garden. Our garden’s been full of blue tits, sparrows and starlings with an occasional robin and woodpecker spotted too. Dad put up more feeders but we’ve got to move them all now as the neighbours’ cats keep pouncing on the birds 🙁 Great post, Lisa – thanks for sharing x
We really have, we’re so lucky! Yes, I expect your frogs and toads are all hibernating just now but how lovely to have so many birds visit you – shame about the cats though! x
Seeing plants growing in January gives me such joy, but also makes me a bit jealous since I can’t grow anything until June. Your garden looks great! I look forward to seeing how things grow in the coming months.
Ah, oh dear, oops, haha. Well, thank you anyway, I hope February’s garden will live up to January’s and give you something to tide you over until June then! x