I’m looking out of our office window this morning at a perfect vision of Spring. Daffodils growing merrily on a slightly overgrown lawn in need of a trim. It’s mild (11 degrees according to the Met office) and I’m in a thin sweater for my walk to the office.
Hang on, isn’t it January 6th? Shouldn’t it be extremely cold and a bit miserable out there?! Well, I’m not complaining-I hate the cold weather and rain (too may years of getting soaked to the skin in the cold winter months). For our gardens it’s a different matter though. Nature is having a very confusing time of it-we have roses pushing out buds, spring bulbs in full flower and soon the perennials will start to awaken. If we have a late cold period, a lot of tender plants will really suffer.
So we’re also having a tricky time deciding how to keep the gardens in check so that they don’t start too early. The very worst decision you can make about your garden is to abandon maintenance during the winter in the belief that the garden will look after itself. In these mild conditions, gardens need all the help that they can get.
