Old December's bareness has gone, welcome to longer days of light divine
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
If there is one thing above all others that I look forward to in
January, it is the almost imperceptible lengthening of
daylight hours (about 2 minutes per day). Here in the west of the
country even on a dull day, it is now light enough to keep working
outdoors until 5.30 pm and I can't tell you how good this
feels.
Bright sunshine from winter aconites
And the first decent sized clump of a snowdrop that has
so far eluded identification
Looking back to last January the incessant rain was utterly
depressing, but that paled into insignifcance when compared to my
hospitalisation and diagnosis of a rare form of lung cancer. I
resolved then to make the most of every day and to keep cheerful.
This has served me well and at the start of the new year I have
made the same commitment to continue as long as possible. Even
something simple like lighter nights lifts the spirits and
recharges the batteries. Even the birds must feel something similar
because some have already started to sing again.
However the earliest flowering plants have not shared the same
inclination to get going and we still await the first full flush of
snowdrops and hellebores. Read on for all the joys of gardening and
living in a special valley in the heart of Wales
Weather
A mixed bag of weather, nothing too extreme or severe and plenty
of variety to enjoy, including some milder, drier spells to get on
with some serious gardening. There have been some fabulous sky
scapes too.
13 rain days, 12 nightime frosts min -6 on 3rd and 5th, strong
winds on only 3 days and none of the fog that blighted most of the
UK mid month. On 12th there was a light dusting of snow on the
surrounding hills which only fell as sleet or hail here.
Garden update
One of the major jobs of the year is the main borders
clear up: all the 500 (yes really!) plant stakes removed, the
haulms cut back and weeding in the Paddock Garden completed. It is
good to be on top of this so early in the year. I say it
tentatively but there does appear to be less weeds this year,
especially bitter cress, although lesser willow herb is more
prevalent. Both annuals they are easy to remove. I hope I don't
live to regret such optimism!!
We are still enjoying our own vegetables from the garden and in
store. Brussels sprouts in particular have cropped almost
continuously since late September thanks to careful selction of
early and later varieties.
Roasted root vegetables from the garden and stored are a
supper favourite and include celeriac, parsnip, swede, carrot and
beetroot.
After some severe night frosts in December I was amazed
to be able to harvest these fine heads of broccoli on the last day
of the year, thanks to protection from 7!! layers of horti.
fleece.
On wet days or after dark the polytunnels are the place to
be, with one of the main priorities being seed sowing of sweet peas
and early vegetables, especially those like the onion tribe which
need a long growing period. My large order of seeds from the Hardy
Plant Society's seed distribution scheme usually arrives in early
Fedbruary, so it is due to get a whole lot busier! We have also
started potting on or tidying up the overwintered plants in the
frames, polytunnels and greenhouse and taking some cuttings when
possible. Moira does much of the potting on work which she rather
enjoys in the warmth of the tunnels!
My little refuge in the propagation tunnel surrounded by all my
essentials and Radio 3 for company
A sunny, windy day on 26th dried out the lawns for the
first time in months which gave the perfect opportunity to make a
final application of winter lawn feed. It is rich in phosphate and
potash, with added iron, but very low in nitrogen as it is
formulated to feed roots not foliage. I made the first
treatment in October and the grass has stayed remarkably green all
winter.
What's looking (smelling!) good
In late January I would normally be extolling the virtues of
snowdrops and hellebores, but in common with many of our gardening
friends and acquaintances, they are very slow to flower this year.
The reason for this I suggest is that the sharp frequent
frosts we had in November and December set back the formation of
flower buds. A year ago in spite of the continuous rain it was a
very different story with the majority being in full bloom. It was
however a very mild winter which brought all the plants
forward.
Sparse flowering in the Beech Hedge Walk, our main
winter border, on 19 January
"Winter Moonbeam" one of my favourite hellebores in the
x ericsmithii section, the result of a 3 way cross between h.
lividus, h.argutifolius and h.niger. Not the range of sepal colour
or patinatation as those in the helleborus x hybridus group
(formerly orientails), but vigorous growers with lovely leaf
markings coming from h. lividus. More of these are coming on the
market each year as the result of successful. imaginative, breeding
and micropogation techniques.
Helleborus niger is notoriously difficult to cultivate
lasting only a couple of years in most cases before it fades away.
We have had this
fine clump for upwards of 5 years and it gets bigger and better
each year. It seems to be a strong clone coming to us without any
cultivar name and revels in part shade in well drained soil at the
back of the Koi Pond and a feed once a year after flowering with
fish blood and bone, as all the other hellebores have.
Good old reliable and totally bomb proof cyclamen coum
however have filled the gaps and whatever the weather, will
continue until the end of winter.
One of the undoubted highlights at Cilgwyn and especially
Aberglsney. which we visited last week, is the perfume arising from
a from a range of winter flowering shrubs. Inconspicuous for most
of the year they come into their own from Christmas until the early
days of spring. The star plant here with the strongest scent is a
large sarcococca in part shade on the bank behind the Paddock pond,
the perfume of which on a sunny day can carry
over 30 yards away.
Bright shiny green leaves on sacococca confusa and the
small white flowers which give such delight
Hoysusuckles are a staple of the summer garden but less
common are the lightly scented winter forms as in loncicera x
purpusii "Winter Beauty". The perfume is not so powerful but cut a
sprig and bring it into the house and it will fill the
room.
One of the finest of all winter flowering shrubs/ small
trees is daphne bholua in its various forms. I have tried it
without success at Cilgwyn so had to rely on Abergglasney for this
pic.
Also at Aberglasney this fine unlabelled hamamelis
possibly h. "Pallida" one of the best scented forms.
When flowers fail you there is always the infinite
variety of leaves to enjoy
Or the remains of last years seed heads as on this
hydrangea
Wildlife and countryside
It has been very much a case of "winter creeps,nature
sleeps" this month with just old faithful robins, wrens, tits and
blackbirds for company and a few small mururmurations of
starlings.
One morning however I got rather excited by a large bird of prey
flying overhead, with slow purposeful wing beats , showing pure
white underneath. A flight of fanatsy overtook me in my half awake
state and I concluded that it must surely be an osprey. Yes I know
that ospreys overwinter mainly in Africa, but reason only returned
some time later. It is however interesting to note that sightings
of ospreys along the valley of the River Towy, less than a mile
from us, are not uncommon in summer months. There is a breeding
centre about 40 miles from us at Dyfi Osprey Project near
Machynlleth and they are known to travel long distances in pursuit
of fish.
A few days later all was revealed when I spotted a
part albino buzzard (which are not uncommon) perched in a tree and
I am sure it had a rather cheeky smile on it's face!
I had another unusual but easy to confirm bird sighting when a
cormorant flew overhead, fortunately not stopping to check out the
contents of our fish ponds. We have have had occasional
sightings over the years and once one did land and started fishing!
We are 25 miles from the nearest sea which illustrates how far they
will travel, especially when conditions on the coast prevent
fishing. They can be a real menace on fisheries and fish farms.
On the subject of fish I was sad to find this Koi carp
dead in the pond. As you can see it had succumbed to fungal
infection on the fins and tail and the abdomen which had partly
split open. A sad end for a fine 10 year old
fish.
Visits
Just one garden visit this month to Aberglasney, our nearest
large garden which is open every day except Christmas. It first
opened in 2000 and is maturing very well. It has been quite an
experience to observe developments during this time, the latest of
which is the building of a large propagation complex which made me
very envious! It is a very good late winter and spring garden and
is well worth a visit at any time. Go to www.aberglasney.org for more
info and visiting times.
Images of Aberglasney last week
The walled kitchen garden with the glasshouse of the new
propagating unit in the background
This superb stand of narcissus "Rijnvelds Early
Sensation" has been in flower since Boxing Day.
One of the gardening highlights in West Wales at this time of
year is the annual Winter Gardening Weekend held in the Tysul Hall,
Llandysul, SA44 4QJ. The dates this year on the 20th anniversary of
the event are 17, 18 and 19 February. As ususual there will be a
superb stage display created by the local Farmyard Nurseries, Gold
Medal winners at Chelsea and other RHS shows. Each day there are 3
talks on a variety of topics and a wide range of plants and crafts
for sale. Refreshments too of course. Please come along and enjoy
the best free gardening event you will ever visit! On Saturday 18th
at 1p.m I will be sharing a talk entitled "Hellebores - A Shared
Passion" with my very good friend Richard Bramley. As
with all the talks it should be great fun and highly informative.
For more details please go to www.llandysul-ponttyweli.co.uk