GARDENING TIPS - January 2012
Happy New Year to you all. I am writing this on New Year's day, a very gloomy one, certainly not gardening weather. However there will be things to do very soon. The garden centres and nurseries have seed potatoes in stock already. Later in the month, early varieties can be chatted (allowed to produce shoots) by standing them in an egg box in a cool, light but frost free position. Onion seeds can be sown in a heated propagator. Autumn fruiting raspberries should be cut back to ground level now.
If the weather does turn cold and frosty, protect your tender plants by covering them with fleece or with dry compost over their roots if in the garden. You may still find some small bulbs available to plant under trees and shrubs. They will be a little late this year but will flower at the normal times in future years. If you are growing Hellebore Orientalis , buds will soon be showing and now is the time to start removing the old leaves so that you can see the flowers. Now is a good time to look out of the window at your garden and think about whether you could plant some winter colour. Evergreens such as the many varieties of Euonymus can brighten up a border. There are evergreen clematis or varieties of Ivy which will cover a fence and also provide cover for birds in the colder months. Then start thinking about your planting for the Summer, it will be here before we know it.
(photo - seed potatoes)
Denise Hill
Broadstone in Bloom
Say you saw it on "Broadstone NET"