Planning Ahead, The Garden in January

I'm a bit of an optimist so the new year always arrives with lots of good intentions for the next twelve months.  

First Day Back in the Garden 

I've managed to make a start on my first good intention for the year this week and that is to allow myself time out in the garden.  Running a business is hard work and getting myself established in the last 16 months has been my priority so I've not been outside as much as I would have liked as a result. So yesterday, secateurs in hand and wrapped up against the cold I found myself enjoying the winter sunshine while I snipped branches off the now empty Christmas Tree. 

I have mixed feelings about real trees.  I much prefer them to an artificial tree made of plastic but to cut down a healthy tree for the sake of a couple of weeks of glory in the house does not sit well with me so I'm always keen to make sure to reuse as much as I can in the garden.  The best way I've found to do this is to chop the branches off and lay them on top of the soil around my blueberry plants.  As an ericaceous species I've got them in a raised bed on the allotment to the Christmas tree needles help reduce the pH of the soil and add some regular organic matter to the bed as they decay.

Before Mulching

Newly mulched with fresh branches

Hard Landscaping Update

The latest news from the builder is that he will be back on site 'mid January' to start laying the path up to the front door (yes the temporary one is still going strong) and build the terrace that will sit outside the new kitchen doors.  

I am not holding my breath but I am now looking at paving options which is the exciting part for me.  I will be making a point to visit Hardy Landscapes to chat to owner Lisa about options as she's been kind enough to invite me to a couple of her product open days in the past.  I'll probably also visit my local quarry to check out their range of slabs as a comparison.  

It's important when choosing paving options that you think about the other materials in the garden.  Our house is built with a fairly standard red brick and despite its rural location, being a former council house it can be a bit lacking in the 'country charm' I'd like.  

The pavers I have for the front path are a buttery yellow sandstone which will weather to match the other stone in the garden over time and while these won't directly connect to the terrace I'd like to try and use similar coloured pavers with the same potential to weather like Yorkshire stone around the back.

One way I can tie the paving into the house and give it a more rustic feel is to use reclaimed bricks and other materials to add a bit of interest to the space.  I already have four old butler sinks and the old chimney pot I brought from my grandparents house after they passed away to incorporate into the scheme on the front which will soften the path and create interest once they are planted up and I'm hoping to incorporate our existing gravel which is in need of a top up but works well with the colour of the blocks.

Used bricks can bring a different texture to a landscape and mix well with other materials so I'm considering using reclaimed bricks, spare blocks, leftover pavers and further gravel to create an informal path around the side of the house I think everything will feel cohesive and I can then plant the gravel up with alpines to add further softness.

Jobs For The Rest of the Month

• Winter prune my evergreen shrubs and willow dome
• Most of the plants in the garden will need some formative pruning over the winter now is the perfect time to get ahead with it.
• Tidy the allotment beds out and prepare the soil for spring planting
• preparing the soil now and getting our beds covered ahead of the growing season will mean the soil is slightly warmer giving our seedlings a better chance of germination.
• Start off early seedlings ready for planting out in the Spring. 
• Onions
• Tomatoes
• Broad Beans
• Peas
• Carry out tool cleaning and maintenance