Posts by janet

This month I am going to concentrate on the small flowers that show their faces in what can be the hardest month of the year. Snowdrops can be seen from January onwards if the soil is warm but come into their own in February. Did you know that they have reinforced hard buds to force their way through frozen soil? If you want to see them in flower en-masse then head to a National Trust garden such as Dunham Massey, Attingham Park or...

January is a difficult month to find colour in the garden so take time to appreciate the shape of plants and the colour from evergreens and tree bark. One January flowering plant, is Hellebore orientalis which is a winter flowering perennial with pink, plum, white and speckled flowers about 5cm in size. In time, a single plant can grow to produce dozens of flowers over winter, then the seeds can set to give you many more plants. They...

December is the quiet month of the year when much of the tidying up has been completed, the plants are mostly dormant and there are few flowers about. So make the most of form and colour on individual plants and enjoy what nature has to offer. I got some Teasel plants from a friend who warned me that they can seed everywhere, which they do but I only let a few grow. They get to 2m tall and have lovely seed heads which are especially...

November is an in between month between autumn and winter but often has late colour from leaves and especially berries. I love Acers and there are many that will suit small gardens. Their requirement is for a sheltered site, not in an exposed windswept location. They also need a moisture retentive and free draining soil so heavy clay will never suit them. They often grow under the canopy of taller trees and like semi shade or sun....

With one of the driest summer of recent years this has not been great for gardeners. If you do want to plant anything out, firstly dig a hole at least 50% deeper and wider than the pot. Incorporate a lot of well rotted manure into the base of the hole and all the back fill soil. This will act as a sponge to retain moisture in the dry soil. Make sure the plant has been standing in water for at least 2 hours to soak the compost and...