A great time of the year

Plant of the Month:
Cornus varieties

This year has been wonderful for the Dogwood. They are not adverse to a watery site and it seems that the downpours we have been subjected to over the past year have provided them with the conditions in which they thrive. Their winter stem displays are particularly striking this year, especially on a cold sunny morning.

Closely planted Cornus look stunning on a sunny morning

I haven’t specified a particular variety here as most of the shrub varieties are attractive in some way or other, from Cornus alba ‘Sibirica Variegata’, the ever popular red stemmed plant with variegated leaves in summer, through to C. stolonifera ‘Flaviramea’ with its lime green stems and the unusual Cornus alba ‘Kesselringli’, whose black stems need a lighter coloured ground cover foil to be seen. There are many to choose from. They are reasonably fast growers and fill a lot of space when fullly grown, so make a good choice for the back of a border. Plant them quite close together to get the full winter effect. Three per square metre will work well.

Even though the Dogwood will tolerate a wet site, they are very flexible and tolerate most soils and situations, although they will colour up more if they are in a sunny position.

Cut back to the ground one stem in every three years to promote the colourful, strong, upright stems that give us those wonderful displays.

Top tips for February

Spring Cleaning

I love this time of the year. The snowdrops are in their full glory, which means that the start of the real growing season is just around the corner. It’s so exciting. I often look out of my kitchen window at my, mainly perennial, garden and wonder how on earth this small garden manages to grow up to become a haven of flowers and wildlife in such a short space of time.

At the moment I am in the process of cutting back all my grasses and perennials to ground level, which leaves the garden looking a bit sparse and sad. It doesn’t take long though for the first bulbs to start appearing — daffs and then tulips and before I know it the whole garden is teeming with flowers once again.

This time of year is really important in the gardening calendar. If you let the next few months tick over without getting out into the garden, the growing season can sometimes take you by surprise and run away with you. These cooler, quieter, slower gardening months provide the perfect opportunity for a good spring clean, and at your own pace too, without being pressured by the spawning weeds.

So, what should you do? I always think that soil improvement is key at this time of year. The garden is at its least full and so there is plenty of room to dig, weed, manure etc. Weeds seem to grow all year round these days, so get down on your hands and knees and remove the perennial weeds like dandelions, nettles and ground elder (if you can see it/them) and hoe off all other weeds that like to self-seed all over the place.

Give your soil a yearly tonic of a good layer of well rotted manure (horse is best) — just leave it on the top (2 shovels full per square metre works a treat) and the worms will take it into the soil — much easier than digging it in! This is perfect for all soils and will improve the structure of chalky soils as well as providing badly need nutrient. If you are on clay, consider incorporating horticultural grit too, for extra drainage.

Once the soil is ready, think about planting and adding structural shrubs where needed and also dividing any existing perennials that may have outgrown their situation. Plant them up somewhere else in the garden, give them to friends or pot them up and sell them to raise money for charity.

Alternatively add them to the compost heap and give this a turn too, whilst you remember!

Give your lawn a feed towards the end of the month if the weather is mild — a good spring treatment fertiliser is what you need. Give it a light rake too to remove any moss that has built up over the winter months.

And don’t forget the greenhouse. Whilst it’s still relatively empty, take the opportunity to give it a good clean, outside primarily, as if you have seedlings growing you are not going to want them out in the cold air, but if you haven’t got this far, do inside and out, getting into all the awkward corners that have a tendency to grow all manner of things you never knew you could turn your hand to.

And finally, the best thing of all. Wrap up warm, make yourself a cup of tea and take this, with a biscuit of course, and spend a few special winter time moments in your garden. It’s such a wonderful place to be. The bones of the garden laid bare are a real delight, the birds are out and about and with a clear head and a clear garden you can start planning the next project for later in the year. And if you choose one of those glorious sunny days we have been having recently, you may even catch a bit of a tan!

Jennie Herrington runs The Green Room Garden & Landscape Design. You can contact The Green Room on 0118 940 4204 or visit the website at www.tgrdesign.co.uk.

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