I’m Bored!

By mid-January it’s safe to say I’m tearing my hair out with boredom! It was so mild before Christmas that I was able to spend most mornings in the garden. Having taken a seasonal break from my clients’ gardens, at last I had time to catch up on my own plot. I was like a bull at a gate! Mulching the borders, high pruning the climbers, trimming hellebore and epimedium foliage. Raking the gravel paths, sweeping the Catio (again) and scrubbing the brick paviers.

Ha! I should have paced myself. There is now nothing to do; a rare occurrence in any garden, but particularly one that was specifically designed to be high maintenance!

I continue to visit the back garden daily, whatever the weather, to fill up the bird feeders and check on the plants overwintering in the greenhouse. The water butt is full. The compost bin is full. The greenhouse has been tidied and vacuumed, tools cleaned, tubs of vermiculite, grit, crocs and potting compost topped up.

Hmmn, what to do now? I’m holding myself back from pruning the bush roses until the end of January. No particular reason other than tradition. Could be done now, could be done in February.

I know!  I can sort out my seed packets. Veg, salads, herbs, in one box; flowers in another. Or by date. Or both. That should keep me busy for about an hour if I‘m thorough. I already know what I’m going to grow from seed; tomatoes, nasturtium, nicandra, ricinus, maybe some love-in-a-mist and cornflowers for the central island bed. All quick to germinate and easy to raise.

Because I like order, I always wash equipment after I use it. Consequently, all my seed trays and lids are clean and stacked on the narrow shelf unit David rigged up for me between the Summer House and greenhouse. (Bit if a squeeze but would win Best-Use-of-Space award.) Alongside them are hundreds of 9cm plastic pots - sorted by colour, of course - then 1, 2 and 4 litre plastic pots, aquatic pots, collars, and finally plant stakes. Plant hoops are stacked on the apex of the greenhouse roof. No doubt, years of retail management honed my organisational skills!  

So anyway, I think it’s time to curl up in my favourite chair for a spot of daydreaming, over a cup of coffee and the latest plant catalogue that’s plopped onto the mat. Internet surfing just won’t do, I’m afraid!

Love, Caroline

Photo: Hellebore drifts at Borde Hill Gardens, West Sussex