Woodside Walled Garden

Things in the garden really begin to kick-off this month. Early bulbs like snowdrops and aconites are in full bloom, and daffodils are beginning to bud up. New shoots are appearing already on fruit bushes, clematis and deciduous shrubs, and herbaceous perennials are waking from their winter slumber.

Now is the time to cut back your herbaceous plants if you didn’t do it in the autumn. Simply cut away all of the old growth of last year as close to the base as you can manage, so that this years’ foliage can emerge neatly. Any herbaceous plants that are in the wrong position can be safely moved now, as long as ground conditions permit, and any that are too large can be divided and replanted in different areas of the garden. When dividing herbaceous plants it’s best to discard the old woody centre and save the fresh young roots from the edges.

It’s also a good time to prune many shrubs and roses. Climbing roses can be cut hard back now to encourage them to flower lower down – it left un-pruned they will produce flowers at the very top, far too high to enjoy them. Dogwoods should also be pruned back hard to encourage young growth which will colour up well for next winter’s display. Shrubs that flower on this years’ growth should be pruned in February. This includes plants such as Buddleia and Lavatera. Remember to always use a sharp pair of secateurs when pruning and to give the pruned plant a good feed of either an all-purpose fertiliser, such as Growmore or Chicken Poo, or a specialist feed for the specific plant.

Keeping the garden well fed is an important part of gardening as it ensures that the health of the plant is maintained enabling it to cope better with problem relating to the weather or pests and diseases. If you garden organically then good feeding is critical. Three major elements are needed for strong plant growth – Nitrogen for green healthy leaves, phosphorus for fruits and flowers, and potassium (in the form of potash) for roots. They are usually applied together in a bought general purpose fertiliser which also contains important trace elements, but sometimes plants require more of one element than another, so a specialist feed is needed. For example garlic bulbs that were planted in the autumn really benefit from a sprinkling of potash towards the end of this month.

Seed potatoes are now in stock at Woodside, and you’ll need to start chitting them soon, and we are already taking orders for Kelsae Onions which we produce at our nursery at Newton Don – just phone or email Woodside to reserve yours.