Cosy up in Winter
Winter is a great season for the gardener because there is virtually nothing to do.
With its long evenings, winter is the season to be cosy by the fire with your cat, to relax and, most of all, to slow down, unwind and reflect. For the garden, life slows down but it does not stop. Much of the growth that we won’t see until spring, is starting up underground and out of sight.
It is winter, when natural resources are becoming sparse, that we can help the wildlife most by a reliable provision of quality food and ice-free water.
The shortest day of the year, 21 December, is when garlic bulbs are traditionally planted for harvesting on the longest day in June. The seedheads that we did not cut off in the autumn are most attractive covered in frost or snow in December and January. Seedheads and stems are valuable to the wildlife because they provide food and shelter.
The fallen fruit that we did not take away is soon consumed by the wildlife. The fallen leaves that we did not sweep are feeding the ground as they are decaying. Come spring they will be mostly gone and we didn’t have to lift a finger (or a rake).
The first plants are tentatively sending up new growth in January and the Snowdrops are beginning to flower. By late February to early spring (March), the Crocus and Narcissus (Daffodils) are up and a few early perennials and shrubs are beginning to flower. February and March are the months of hope that the new spring is upon us.
If you are still cutting down old growth after the summer, consider this: When you look out of the window, what would you rather see: The beautiful structures of stems, seedheads and ornamental grasses or a bare, flat expanse of nothingness?