May; simple garden design

Looking at a garden that you want to improve, and make your own can feel very daunting. Where do I begin? As Julie Andrews famously sang, ‘Let's start at the very beginning. It’s a very good place to start.’ You know the rest.

So, when tackling a garden, it can be useful to ask yourself questions that you would pose when decorating and furnishing a room in your house:

- What am I going to use the space for?

- How many people will use it?

- Do I want to make it darker, lighter, more colourful, more cosy, or what?

- What angle does the morning and evening sun come in?

- How much maintenance do I want to do?

- What style fits in with the surrounding architecture?

Having worked your way through that list, it can be helpful to think of the different components of the garden as being like the furniture and colour in a room.

You wouldn't put an armchair in the middle of a room, because it would dominate the space. Therefore, why would you put a big plant or border in the middle of your garden? Unless you need shade or you want screening, it will have the same effect in your garden.

Busy wallpaper and crammed-in furniture can make a room feel claustrophobic. So it is with an over-crowded outdoor space. Remember, there is a difference between an exciting space and a chaotic one.

Restrained colours on the walls and floors can be dull if taken to an extreme, but used well will create a sense of order and calm. So it is in gardens. Deciding on a restricted palette will create a sense of unity.

Perhaps you want a secluded corner or a quiet, reflective area just as you would have a reading chair or writing desk away from the thoroughfares and walkways.

Drawing a basic outline plan can be a start to working out ideas with pencil and paper. I always keep an eraser handy so I can improve ideas and easily sketch out new ones.

Yes, it is tricky getting the right plants for the right situation. Equally, knowing how to tackle changes of level, getting the right paving at the right price and most challenging, finding the right person to do the job, are all tasks you might want to leave to the professional. This is not just because every man I know who is over 50 has a bad back (and most of them still think they are 25!). It is because if you are going to spend money on a project you need to be sure you are spending it well.

So, when not embarking on your new career as a garden designer there will be plenty to keep you busy in your existing garden;

• Watering newly-planted trees and shrubs is critical at this time of year. The Royal Horticultural Society recommends giving a bucket of water every four days for a 2m tall tree unless there has been prolonged rainfall. And there hasn't been.
• Shrubs with hollow stems and branches can always be cut back hard. Spireas are one of this group. Don't touch the large arguta until it has finished its white-flowering show and then cut out about a third of the shoots. But old and straggly knee-high Spirea bumalda can be cut right back down to 10cm.
• If you are going to clip your hedges, then be sensitive to the wildlife that may be making a home there. Delay the task if you see birds nesting.
• In this early part of the growing season there is still time to tackle your pond. Water lilies will become less showy if they are not divided every few years.
• If you are keen to attract wildlife then make sure amphibians have easy access in and out of the pond. A small plank or a shingle edge to the pond will enable hedgehogs to drink without toppling in and meeting a watery end, as well as giving frogs an easier life.
• Resist the temptation to plant rows of bedding plants when the sun comes out. If it has been a brilliant day then the chance of a frost in the evening is still pretty high. Wait until the end of the month.

It is easy to think of the garden as nothing but a series of chores when everything starts growing at this time of year. If you are able to schedule and spread your tasks over the month, preferably working with someone else then is should be more of a pleasure than a pain.

Pleasure? That was the idea of having a garden in the first place wasn't it? Julie Andrews would approve.

April; loving your mess

They say you can tell a lot about a man by the company he keeps. So I hesitate to tell you this but a friend of mine overwinters his children's rabbit hutch in their kitchen, along with the rabbits of course. 

It's a slightly unnerving experience to have two pairs of glassy eyes staring at you as you bring your fork to your mouth. Images from The Curse of the Were-Rabbit go through your mind.

I also have an artist friend in Spain who rears hares in the bottom drawer of his living room cupboard before releasing them into the wild. 

Wise gardeners and allotment holders also seem to know which animals are beneficial for their plots and which are not, as well as how to get the best from them. Here’s my handy guide to garden friends and foes.

Frogs like to eat slugs so build a pond, however small and shallow to attract them, but make it is safe if toddlers are around. If you create gentle slopes to your pond you will also attract thirsty hedgehogs which will also eat your slugs. 

Bees will pollinate and cross-pollinate, so plan a wildflower patch with a bee-attracting plant mix. Even a small area of garden will do the job. You don’t need a meadow. These seed mixes can be surprisingly cheap if you shop around. 

By keeping a pile of twigs and rocks somewhere in your garden you will create the ideal habitat for a range of creepy things. Spiders, beetles and woodlice are not everyone's idea of pets but when you start getting ladybirds, frogs and slow-worms too it gets interesting. Try not to be freaked out if you see a slow-worm. Yes, they look like dangerous snakes, but they are harmless. Like a lot of us they enjoy basking in warm, protected spots and can often be found under discarded sheets of corrugated iron. 

As the season progresses the ladybirds will eat the aphids (green and black fly), the frogs will eat the slugs and the slow-worms will eat anything that is going. Bird life will add diversity and interest so keep your bird-bath topped up and your feeders full.

I would counsel caution when it comes to keeping chickens and rabbits. Foxes and rats will have a go at them and their feed, particularly in the spring, when they are raising their own young and have hungry mouths to feed. So you will need serious barriers in place to protect them. This includes having chicken wire dug 200 mm into the ground to stop foxes burrowing in. Watch Chicken Run for tips and beware of holes appearing under fences and sheds. 

When not spooling through your old Wallace and Gromit collection, now is the time to get stuck into important spring jobs. These include:

•    Straggly Photinia, Choisya (Mexican orange blossom), Laurel, Santolina ( cotton lavender)  and Brachyglottis (Senecio) can be improved with a hard chop. Take them back to 150mm if you need to. 

•    Reduce Cotinus (Smoke tree) and Sambucus (Elder) to create more dense foliage as this will best show them off.

•    It should now be mild enough to plant out species from Mediterranean climates.

•    Dead-head fading daffodil and tulip flowers but don't touch the foliage as this will feed the bulbs for next season.

•    The weeds will soon start showing their heads, so mulch, hoe and if you really have to then spray them. Be conscious that even in a light wind herbicides can drift. So be very discerning as to where and what you use.

•    Lawn feed can be applied, but avoid moss killer unless you are committed to re-sowing or laying turf on the bald and black patches where the moss has died.

•    Bumps and hollows in the lawn can now be repaired by cutting a cross and peeling back the turf in order to remove or add soil. 

•    Late frosts can damage fruit blossom, so cover the tips with a protective fleece or simply a light sheet.

And remember - bunnies are not just for Easter. Just ask Gromit if you don't believe me.

March; making wonky vegetables great again.

Much has been in the news recently about the American party nominations along with some articles on the introduction of wonky vegetables to supermarkets.

I love wonky vegetables - especially organic ones or even better, home grown ones from the allotment. Full of flavour with the odd bit slug thrown in. Not sure about the super-clean, tasteless artificially orange carrot you see on TV with few of it's own hairs and often presented in ridiculous packaging. But who am I to judge?

But talking of things that have grown too big for their own good....and if you are in need of an antidote to media overload - now is the time to be ruthless with that Honeysuckle. I have lost count of the number of times I have gone into gardens and rather worried looking clients have complained about the size and woodiness of their rampant Honeysuckle.

Fear not - there is nothing to it. You can chop it right back to knee level and it will come back just fine. If it doesn't then it was past saving anyway.

It is also the month to cut back your roses. As I have suggested before - one third off in the late autumn and another third off in early spring is a good rule of thumb. Cut to just above a bud to avoid "die-back". By pruning you encourage healthy new growth, a better shaped plant and you can take out crossed, dead or diseased stems. That is the basic premise of all pruning.

I am looking forward to getting out and getting on with the following this month;

• Tidying up perennials that still need cutting back. Some, such as Sedum still display nice looking stems and seed heads so you might want to leave them for a bit longer.
• Get mulch spread over the borders to help keep the moisture in, the weeds down and to feed the soil. I am a big fan of the real thing - well-rotted cow manure.
• Add additional slow-release fertiliser to plants that have been struggling.
• There is still time to move evergreens as long as it is not in a cold snap.
• Not a very inviting task but now is the time to get into the pond ( or reach out from the edge ) and divide the marginal, pond and bog plants. Make sure you have a hot cuppa lined up!
• Work out your slug-defense regime. Beer traps? Grapefruit halves? Grit rings around plants? Night time patrols?
• In less frost-prone areas you can seed new lawns but always over-sow and put in place pest deterrents; conditions are never perfect so beware of bald patches.

Talking of bald patches...no...let's not go there. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and the clouds are clearing. 

Happy Spring gardening and here's to ...making wonky vegetables great again!

(Actually - they already are).

February; waking up from winter

February is always a strange mix. As the waitress in the cafe where I am blogging has just said; "It's weird innit? Everyone has a great time in December yeah? January they are broke and February...like...it's just ...weird innit?". I couldn't have put it better myself.

The holiday break now seems far too many miles away and work is beginning to pile up. My resolutions are being severely tested. There is however plenty of promise and consolation.

You can feel the days getting longer. And there are many glimpses of things to come; more birdsong, snowdrops emerging where you had never seen them before, Hellebores that you had never looked at closely and the saturating smell of sweet box ( Sarcoccocca ). You might even catch some sunlight on the yellow flowers of Witch Hazel.

I think it is the bright shafts of sunlight as a contrast to the winter grey that make it special. They pick out the colours. Mind you - I never get too excited as one moment I will be leaning against a wall warming myself and the next moment putting on extra layers because of the biting wind. You never know when a sharp frost is coming.

It's all definitely on the turn though. And if I can tear myself away from the warm sofa and put some of my healthy resolutions into practice I will get down to some of the jobs to do.

Monthly top-tips for February;

• Lawns can have their first cut if you are sure there are no frosts about. Set the mower at a high cut to start with then gradually lower it through the spring.
• If you do have a frost try to avoid walking on the grass as it damages and marks it.
• Trim the winter-flowering heathers after they have lost their colour.
• Fuchsia, Santolina and Lavatera are all looking a bit scraggy now and ready for a good chop. Cut them back to 30-45 cms.
• After you have cut back the ornamental grasses you can use the cuttings as a thermal layer by heaping them over the plant base.
• If you are lucky enough to have a wood burner or even have a bonfire you will help your roses and your fruit trees by sprinkling the ash around the base. It is the Potassium in it that benefits the fruit and flowers. Coal ash is not good news - too toxic for plants.
• It's still a good time to plant your new rose.
• Birds still benefit from a supply of food but I am reliably informed that providing peanuts when nesting time approaches is not a good idea. ( Health and safety with young fledglings is a hot topic you know).
• If you are going to prune deciduous hedges then do it now BEFORE the nesting season starts.

Well - I could get out now and cut down those Sedums and grasses before tea. Or watch the rugby preview from the sofa with some of that left-over cake, but it looks awfully miserable out there.

Oh dear - what happened to my resolutions? Like - it's just weird innit? 

Witch Hazel

P.s. Blog posts will now be posted on the first w-end of the month not the first day of the month.

January; light and dark

I recently walked some of the Cornish coastal path around Falmouth and the Helford estuary.

 Not only did I have some extraordinary and unexpected conversations with "strangers" leading to invitations and garden designs but I was struck by the amount of life I came across.

Admittedly these observations were when the rain wasn't  horizontal and I wasn't hanging on to a tree for dear life. But when the breaks came - and there were plenty of them - they were stunning. Strong yellows of gorse amongst the defiant green prickles, swelling buds of the mountain ash, oaks and Hawthorn and even small daffodils nodding their heads in the breeze.

I even managed some sunbathing in the shelter of a Helford estuary beach.

The wildlife certainly know the days are now getting longer. When the birds weren't sheltering from the winds the buzzards, blackbirds and inevitable seagulls wheeled in the skies. I looked on, envious of their acrobatic freedom as they swooped fearlessly over ragged cliffs.

I wonder if they are waiting for a "proper" winter as many of us are...or for that matter they have any opinion on global warming?

What ever my musings lead me to conclude there will be plenty of jobs to do when I get back home.

• WE might have fed rather too well this Christmas but for a lot of wildlife it is still a struggle. Apart from the joy of seeing birds at the feeders we can do our bit to bolster the numbers of common species such as sparrows and blue tits with simple bird feeders.
• If you have Hellebores that produce flowers from the ground you can show them off better by taking off the leaves.
• Make sure you get the most of the winter flowering Mahonias, Daphnes and Loniceras, even taking some cuttings into the house for a scented flower arrangement.
• Some of the ornamental grasses and perennials left for their winter interest may start looking messy. Just cut them back 75 - 100 mm from  the ground.
• Because larger trees and shrubs are still mostly dormant it is a good time to move, prune and plant them without too much fear of doing them permanent damage. Just avoid letting roots to dry out when planting.
• Partially prune Wisteria by cutting back side shoots shortened by summer pruning to two or three buds but avoid cutting off flower buds.
• Moles start becoming irritating at this time of year. You might have to level out their "hills" and think about disrupting their love lives wit some of the many devices on offer. What a thought. Shotguns maybe a bit too savage.
• If we do start getting frosts then not only protect your tender plants (Abutilon, Palms and others) but check your pots are protected too. Raising them a tad with a broken tile or two will stop them becoming water-logged.
• If the pond freezes over resist the temptation to crack it open with an iron bar. The fish won't thank you - in fact it will probably kill them.  A pan of hot water set onto the ice will do the job fine.

As I squelch around gardens and country paths I remind myself of the fact that time is on our side now and that every bit of vigorous digging will ease my conscience about the brandy butter, stuffing and cream I worked my way through.

Funny thought - that when we are at our most fulsome (!) nature is often at her most lean.  I guess that's why we go on walks in bracing storms and enjoy being woken up from our mid-winter doziness. 

Until we do it all again in a year's time.

December; a season of gifts

"Mummy, Mummy - that's the man who lives in our tree house!"

I felt I had finally made it into the local children's folklore. It made my morning and bought a long chuckle to my client too as her daughter pointed to me in awe. I momentarily considered becoming an unlikely extra in "The Hobbit".

Sometimes we seem to get "gifts" from the most unexpected sources. At a time of year when we are about to pour millions into the economy by buying presents that we often don't need, it is worth keeping our antennae up.

My allotment is looking pretty desolate - but the colours of the crab apples are stunning; even in the gloom they seem to glow. There is a mysterious purple to the shrubs in the evening. The cotoneasters and pyracanthas come into their own and the hollies are usually alive either with birds or berries. All beautiful and inspiring.

Winter scent can be bought into the house with cuttings of Mahonia, Witchhazel, Viburnum fragrans and a number of others; put them together and you will have the most dramatic arrangement on your kitchen table.

Even the much maligned Privet hedge can be raided for it's bright leaves; mix them with some dark evergreens from your boring laurel hedge along with bright stems of dogwoods you find out on a walk later this month and you will have the framework for an arrangement. I am no expert but there are a thousand ways you can go on from there using silver spray and ribbons.

December top-tips;

• If you are planting a tree or shrub in a particularly wet patch then plant in a mound slightly above the soil level. This will prevent the roots becoming water-logged
• On that note - you may have areas that become a muddy mire in winter. Don't go to the gym; get out there with a fork and jump on it at 150mm intervals to improve the drainage. (Then have that glass of wine).
• That climbing rose you were given last century can be renovated in stages; cut out a third of the stems now and then the same in the following years and it will show new vigour.
• As the frosts begin to come in wrap up the more tender plants that will take a knocking. Some plants ( such as the climber Passiflora and some Clemetis) will die back a bit but pruning them in spring is fine and no real harm will be done. It is the more tender species such as Abutilons and Yuccas from hotter climates that can suffer permanent damage so hessian, fabric or fleece will all help.
• Remember; it is the damp not the cold that will kill off perennials in the winter months so aerating the soil as well as the lawn may be necessary. The long-term strategy for this is to add organic matter and even grit to damp borders or better still - plant species that love their feet in moisture.

My experience is that it all gets a bit mad at this time of year. The real gifts for me are things that come in an unexpected way. Are my ears, eyes and hands open?

Am I really ready for gifts this Christmas?

November; Bonfires & beer

Gardeners are a funny breed.

I was sitting outside a pub in the sun yesterday afternoon drawing breath when a seasoned gardener drew up. ( It was my way of preparing for a hard 80 minutes against the All Blacks).

I waved in a hale and hearty manner."Lovely day isn't it? Good to get this sun!"

He shook his head; "Too warm for me. I prefer it cold - all this global warmth is no good for me. We need a good cold snap - that's what gets all the leaves off all the trees in one go, none of this sweeping them up for a month". I did my best to grin; "Well I like it" I said weakly.

He looked at me as if I was the typical Johnny-come-lately romantic gardener whose hands and now whose head was going soft. ( He is right of course ). "Well you rake leaves for a month and then tell me that". I left him to his pint hoping that he would spot that his glass was half full before it became half empty and that we probably won't be seeing polar bears in Hampshire quite yet.

The warmth certainly has gone on - and what a blessing. But it means that bugs and diseases are more likely to remain and bare-root planting should be delayed. There is still time to lift and divide herbaceous plants, to enjoy late flowering perennials and to be able to work in borders without tramping the life out of them when they are water-logged.

So now the rugby is over and half-term almost done;

• Enjoy a bonfire to burn all diseased cuttings and leaves such as black-spot on roses and coral spot on twigs that are dying back.
• Get all the leaves off the lawn and off the pond either to compost them or burn them if mildew is appearing.
• Plant out your Tulips where you know colour will be needed in the spring; you can still plant daffodils and many other bulbs.
• Bare-root hedging and trees can be "heeled in" by digging small trenches and covering the roots with soil. They can then be easily lifted to plant out when the time is right.
• Plunge into that compost heap you have been patiently filling with tea bags and potato peelings. Clear all your well-rotted compost ( hopefully with all the worms too) onto your borders and veg patches to make space for another filling this year.
• Check that all your tree and climber ties are not too tight or too loose; it is amazing how easy it is to forget such a simple task. Ties that are too tight will restrict the bark that is essential to growth. Ties that are too loose will make your trees and climbers vulnerable to wind damage in the winter.
• Now is the time of year to prune Acers as they are prone to bleeding in other months.

I like to add well-rotted manure to borders at this time of year too. It takes several months to break down so the nutrients are available to the plant in spring and humus would have worked it's way into the soil by then too. Roses particularly benefit from this.

Maybe not mention red roses and rugby shirts for a while. Perhaps my grizzled colleague was an England rugby fan and that was why he was so grumpy. I didn't ask though he did seemed to have cheered up after a few pints when I passed him on the way out.

Just don't mention global warming, the weather or the war.