A very happy new year to you all. January is undoubtedly the most depressing month of the year, dark, cold and pay day feels a very long way off. However, on the up side, it is also a time of reflection, and excitement of the possibilities the coming year will bring. A time to make plans, in your life, your home or your garden.

It is a privilege to be able to get out into your garden, enjoying the nature around you, even if you are just pottering about. The fresh air, especially on a day like today, being able to breath in that fresh air, it’s so good for your spirit and your mental health, not to mention your physical health.

My year began with Covid so I am a little behind on getting going. I will soon be back to my normal, not so normal self.

New Baby

We do have a new addition to the Willows family. A sidekick for Mo, this is Mabel. She is a 14 week old golden Labrador.

No doubt there will be more from Mabel as the year goes on. Is she going to be digger? An eater of plants? Only time and lots of patience will tell.

This Year’s Big Job Planning

As I said, I am behind on everything, we are almost half way through the month and I have done very little. Whilst I was bedridden, my lovely husband tore the front hedge out. The hedge was dying, afflicted with a disease of some sort and looked awful. The plan is to put a driveway on the front when we are ready – big job No.1.

The hedge row is laid out in the back garden, awaiting to be cut into smaller pieces. The amazing thing though is the amount of birds that I have seen on it. I missed the opportunity to take a photo yesterday of five little birds flittering in and around it.

The other big job in planning is a garden room from where I can type in the midst of the garden, surrounded by nature and the place I love to be. Big job No.2.

I have also to put a further raised bed down in my garden. I have plans to grow more veggies this year and I loved my cut flower bed last year so yeah, need room for that too! Big job No.3.

I want to lay a patio out of our back door. Not least of all for two dirty labradors but for walking to the bins and not having to walk around soggy grass. Big job No.4.

Who knows what will actually be completed within this year, these are the plans but there is no time frame. A garden is ever evolving so it is what it is.

Making Notes?

Do you have a list of things to do in your garden this year? What are they? Have you written them down or is a mental note of jobs to be done.

Mental note for me is that I intend to visit as many gardens and gardening shows as possible this year. I will, of course, share them with you, if I get to them.

Winter Colour

Currently the garden is lacking colour and interest aside from the Viburnum which is in flower and my winter baskets are a lovely shot of colour as you look across the garden.

My aim for next winter is to find and plant items of interest or colour to make the garden as welcoming in January as it is in June.

I did put the question out there on one of the Facebook pages I follow, the answers that came back were Cornus, Euonymus, Mahonia, Mimosa, Witch Hazel, Camellia and Crab Apple Tree. Some brilliant offerings there, if you have any other suggestions, I would love to hear them.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The only thing currently of interest is my onions, shallots and garlic that are coming on nicely. It is good to see something growing when the rest of the garden is at rest, in hibernation.

The Garden Today

There was a sharp frost again this morning but the sun is shining brightly out there, you can definitely feel its warmth on your face even if the rest of you is jolly chilly, which is lovely when you have to keep taking the puppy out to do her business.

There is lots to do in the garden at this time of year, just like in your home there is always garden housework to do; tidying up, putting things away etc. Generally sorting out and getting ready cos Spring is just around the corner. As I said, I haven’t even made it out into the garden really yet so I had better get a move on.

The apple tree will need a prune very shortly. It had a good prune this time last year which did it the world of good. It helps to keep them healthy and hopefully produce better fruit.

Here is Monty Don showing you how to prune, but there are many other videos and how to’s to be found on the t’interweb.

Potatoes

Just before Christmas I didn’t get a chance to show you my potatoes that I planted back in October. My blog post was hopeful to have potatoes for the big day grown from my garden but while I knew they would be small, I was somewhat underwhelmed when they made their appearance.

I have just posted it on my Instagram for all to see. They were very small, maybe salad potatoes but we shall endeavour to produce bigger, better potatoes this year.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lucie Wellburn (@lucieinthewillows)

Veggie Planning

This year’s veggies are going to be (hopefully) potatoes, peppers, carrots, broccoli, cabbage and maybe artichoke, not because I’ve eaten one before but because I like the way they look. The plan is to grow what we eat, no need to deviate from what I would usually buy from the supermarket. Self sufficiency is the key.

Anyhow, that’s my first hello from 2022, and I look forward to bringing you more from a fun-filled year from The Willows.