The days are drawing in and by mid afternoon the light levels are dropping drastically, but by the end of the month the days will start to get longer which will give us all something to look forward to. I’m longing for the longer days. It has certainly been a year to remember and throughout it our gardens have been our saviour. In March when anxiety was high, spring arrived with a flourish and Mother Nature held our hand through the tough times. For that I will be forever grateful. Summer was glorious in our gardens, the silence enabled us to appreciate nature on our doorstep, we got used to the new normal but with Christmas approaching it feels like we are going backwards somewhat and again my garden gives me the space to switch off and get away from it all. Hearing the birds singing their hearts out and seeing buds getting ready to burst is just good for the soul. I can’t recommend it enough to get outside each day, even if just for 5 minutes, to have a wander and see what has appeared, or go for a walk and spot plants springing into life along the way.
I’m really pleased that after stockpiling a lot of bulbs over the last few months, I have at last got them all planted. Allium ‘purple sensation’ and gladiolus Byzantium have been planted in the main flowerbed, I’m hoping they might flower at the same time as they will look great together but we’ll just have to see how that works out next year. Crocus and iris are planted in small terracotta pots for outside the back door with a covering of gravel, which gives a smarter finish and stops the squirrels. Narcissus ‘tete a tete’ have been added to the collection under the hedge at the front of the house to brighten everyone’s day when they are driving up and down the road.
Leaf clearing continues, I only clear them off the grass, the path and from the gulley at the edge of the flowerbed, but the leaves on the flowerbeds will be left to rot down and provide nutrients for the plants and shelter for the minibeasts. Nature provides us with this natural mulch so why not use it?
Along one boundary we have a hedge of hawthorn, oak, viburnum Opulus Roseum, viburnum tinus, laurel, Symphoricarpos Magical Galaxy (‘Kolmgala’) (PBR) snowberry and an assortment of rhododendrons. This hedge is pretty much left for wildlife with leaves collecting under the shrubs, and a matt of ivy for wildlife to shelter in over winter. In the summer we have large wood ants that carve a trail between one huge oak and an oak further down the garden. They put me off going in there so it is left to its own devices and the wildlife can benefit from it.
This time of year the flowers in the garden are dwindling but I love it when you walk past a shrub and get hit by its scent. Winter flowering shrubs tend to have small flowers but they pack a punch. On the school run I walk past an Elaeagnus × submacrophylla ‘Limelight’, it took me a few days to figure out where the scent was coming from when I first noticed it, but now I love how such small flowers can be noticed from 6ft away. It makes me smile every day as I walk past it. Once you start noticing that flowering shrubs have a stunning scent you’ll be amazed at how many you can find on a walk.
I’m gradually building up my winter shrub collection. I planted a Hamamelis × intermedia ‘Pallida’ (witch hazel) in the spring which is now budding up nicely, and I recently bought a beautiful Sarcococca confuse, sweet box, from Longacres. I can’t quite ever figure out if I like the scent or not but I figured the bees would enjoy it. I had planted it out the front of the house but after doing some research I think I might move it next to the Hamamelis and Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’ so that the bees can easily find it without travelling too far on the cold bright days when they emerge from their hive.
It is always fun to try something different, so this year I decided to plant some indoor hyacinth bulbs. Having never done this before it feels like another learning curve. The bonus of lots of moss in the lawn is that they have been covered with the moss to help keep the moisture in and now I just hope I can get them to flower so we can enjoy their strong perfume in the new year.
Being the time of year to think about what I’d like for Christmas I decided to ask for a new kneeler and the longer hand rake. It’s not getting as easy to crawl under clients’ shrubs to clear leaves as it once was so I must admit I’m looking forward to being able to use my Burgon & Ball mid handled shrub rake next year.
To finish off, I just want to wish everyone a happy and healthy Christmas, enjoy lots of fresh air and start making plans for your garden for 2021. We all need something positive to focus on. Some friends and I are organizing an Open Garden scheme to raise money for charity for next summer. I’m looking forward to 2021 already.
