End of Month Review January 2012

I can't believe it's almost the end of January already.  Where does the time go?  "They" say it's a sign of advancing years.. whoever they are. 

January may have passed at speed but that means we are getting closer to longer days, warmer weather and more gardening. It's a good time to stand back and see what's been happening in the garden this month.

I've done some more cutting back of grasses and spent perennials. We had a lot of wind and the miscanthus has become very tatty and some of it has fallen over. I often leave it until late winter  going into spring before I sort it out. It often is a bit too late as the new grasses are already showing through by that time and it's all to easy to snip them off or stand on them.

Going,

Going,

Gone

It's  been a great time for birds at the feeding table. I've been encouraged by Shirley's blog, Shirl's Gardenwatch to join the RSPB's Garden Watch last weekend.

  The only down side of all these birds perched in the silver birch near the feeders are the droppings that land on the hellebores, snowdrops and foxglove seedlings. It all looks a bit messy. The problem would be partially solved by cutting of the old hellebore leaves which I should have already done (as Dave Marsden, the Anxious Gardener pointed out to me a while back). But it's one of these jobs I haven't got round to yet along with cleaning out the garden shed.

 Not all the hellebores are affected.

And some are better viewed up close.

As are the dainty flowers of cyclamen coum. There were moved into pots last year from under the apple tree in an attempt to get rid of a spreading little weed. Have we been successful? It's still evident in other pots... so watch this space!

 There's also lots of promise in the shape of swelling buds on the camellia,

The Clematis Armandii,

And pots of tulips. This is a zingy orange tulip "Orange Emperor" getting ready for a glorious splash of colour in a few months time.

There's nothing much happening in the vegetable garden at the moment. Most of the borders are now empty apart from some mulched but increasingly sad looking Globe Artichokes. 

The greenhouse is still housing some of the more tender plants. So far I've managed to keep botrytis at bay.It seems to help airing the greenhouse for a short time in the middle of the day, watering very carefully so as not to get water on the leaves and clearing any dead or dying foliage away. Having said that I spy some dead foliage under the echium plant. Oops!

It will soon be time to sow seeds in the heated propagator and cover some of the vegetable  garden with cloches to heat up the soil before planting.
If I sound  motivated and full of "get and go" it's all a front!

And I had no sooner typed this than that nice man on the weather forecast was mentioning winter and Siberia in the same sentence! I had better make sure the bird feeders are well stocked.

You can catch up with lots of other interesting "End of Month Reviews" with Helen at
The Patient Gardener's Weblog.