The garden year is ending, but already the next one has begun

It’s the last day of the year as I write this. I guess I should be addressing some major themes or drawing a few deep conclusions about the garden (or myself). Perhaps I could mark the end of 2021 with a significant statement of what I’ve learned or what I mean to do next.

Well yeah … but I don’t really do that sort of thing.

I will say that gardening at Woodridge this year has been fascinating and probably harder work than I had expected. I’ve learned more about gardens and gardening than I knew when I moved here. Some of it by trial and error; some of it by listening to an expert. Speaking of whom…

The best gardening decision I made all year

Without a doubt, the best gardening decision I made this year was to hire Laura. 

When I started looking for a gardener I needed more than just a man with a mower. I wanted somebody who would help me make the best choices for the trees, shrubs  and plants we already have, and the ones we would eventually plant ourselves. 

I also wanted to hire a woman. There seem to be far fewer women working as gardeners, so I wanted to show support where I could. 

I’ve described hiring Laura, how I valued her expertise (and how she values her own services) in my March blog post. I can honestly say how pleased I am that made that choice – it has been a real success. Laura has definitely added value to the garden. 

For the first few months she was doing 1 full day a week. Around August she went down to half a day. She is never not busy – there’s a lot to do (except maybe this time of year, when it finally falls quiet out there).

We start most Thursday sessions with a chat about what needs doing, what’s the priority, how we can divide up the effort. Also a cup of herbal tea (for her – I’m strictly on the coffee), if I remember to make one. Sometimes we work together, but often we’re doing different jobs around the place or else Laura will be the only one working out there while I get on with other stuff.

As you might expect, Simon and I don’t always agree when there’s a decision to be made (move this or dig up that or plant the other). But he will always make sure to get Laura’s opinion and he follows her advice. She basically gets the casting vote around here.

At some point I took over the mowing so Laura could spend her time on the more meaningful work. Oddly it turns out that I rather enjoy mowing. I’m less in love with strimming the non-mowable bits (the strimmer and I do not get on), so that’s a job for Simon or, sometimes, Laura.

In each blog post, when I describe what we’ve done or add the list of “other jobs for the month”, you can be sure that Laura has had a hand in a lot of that. I am grateful for what she does and I respect her knowledge and expertise (not to mention hard work!). 

But in addition to that, we’ve got to know each other a little over the months. We share personal stories and a bit of gossip. It’s a really nice working relationship and I’m ever so pleased to have her around.

Another tree bites the dust

In our previous garden there were really only 1 or 2 biggish trees, plenty of shrubs, some borders and a vegetable patch. Here the balance is reversed, with trees forming the core of the garden. Everything else happens around, between or under the trees. 

I really value the larger shrubs and trees, and their wonderful variety. However, as earlier instalments of this blog have shown, some of them are in the wrong place, or just plain wrong, and we’ve focused a fair bit of attention on putting that right this year.

In August the arboricultural consultant identified a large holly tree as having a few problems. Not only was there a risk of its stem splitting and harming itself, it might also damage some much nicer specimens such as an ornamental cherry tree. To be honest, I didn’t think it added much to the garden and that we’d benefit from more light and air without it.

So in November the lads from Wessex Rural Crafts came and cut it down. I always feel bad for how difficult it is for workers to access the garden, although this team did a brilliant job of getting up the driveway with all their equipment (not many do). 

It has made a huge difference to some parts of the garden. It lets in more light and a sense of distance from inside the house. It has opened up the view of the Blackmore Vale when you’re standing at the top of the garden. It might even help the vegetable patch and greenhouse be more effective as there’s no longer a massive tree blocking the sunlight.

They also left us a heap of logs, all cut to the right length and ready for Simon to split. Which he did, after carefully sharpening his axe with the new bastard file we bought. And saying “bastard file” a lot, just for the fun of it.

The quiet end of the year

November and December aren’t dazzling garden months. With any luck you’ve been efficient enough to more or less put the garden to bed sometime in early November. Then there’s not much left to do until the Spring. 

I haven’t been quite that efficient and we still had a few jobs to finish up.

Decommissioning the greenhouse, dumping the straggling tomato and chilli plants, sorting pots and labels. Putting potted pelargoniums in there to overwinter.

 Emptying terracotta pots of old compost and the remains of bedding plants, and washing them ready for next year. 

Lifting dahlias from the ground, letting the tubers dry for a while and then storing them in fresh, dry compost – I hope I’ve put the right labels on the right pots!

Tidying beds and borders – getting out the last weeds and trimming back shrubs and perennials.

Clearing leaves. This was feeling like an endless task, yet by early December we could see the light at the end of the tunnel (or rather, through the bare branches of trees). They still keep coming, though not so thick and fast.

Bulbs, glorious bulbs

November was when all those bulbs I bought finally went into the ground or in pots. All 1100 or so.

Laura planted all the outdoor ones: daffodils and crocuses on grassy banks, alliums and tulips in beds and borders, and a few scilla under a tree.

I planted up pots and pots of tulips and a couple of bulb lasagnes – layers of bulbs to flower at different times, including iris reticulata, crocus, narcissi and different varieties of tulips.

Next year’s buds and shoots

I guess I was thinking about the bulbs when I wrote the title of this post. It’s winter and the garden year is ending, but by planting bulbs we’re already immersing ourselves in next year’s garden. We prune now so that the plants can flourish many months from now. And the buds and shoots of next spring’s flowers are already with us, ready to go.

Happy New Year!