Happy New Year from the Pick, Cook and Eat Graden at Overtown.
I say, Happy New Year, and I mean it, but the thick layer of grey currently suspended in the sky is doing a pretty good job of dampening my spirits. On top of that we’ve been taking down all of the Christmas decks in the manor and poor Charlotte has spent the morning hoovering up pineneedles. The ground is wet and heavy, the leaves are soggy and brown and the resident muntjac has been back to ravage my rhubarb chard. My gloves are wet through and the tips of my fingers are red and burning with the cold. I have a tricky relationship with January.
For a long time January has been my nemesis. There’s little to look forward to, little I can do in the garden and little to give me any cheer, and I won’t be the only gardener to feel this way I am certain. However, last year I decided to make a conscious effort to change my ways and view January in a different light and I’m going to attempt the same this year. I've allowed myself a few days of moping and now it’s time to remember the real purpose of January and the first thing you need to do is look at the natural world.
What are the tree’s up to? Where have the hedgehogs gone? What are my perennial plants doing tucked up under their layer of mulch? They are sleeping, recuperating after a year of hard work, growing and giving. They are all hunkered down, doing something so completely essential that without it we would have no lush green leaves, no beautiful blooms, no spikey little hogs to eat up the slugs. They are resting. And this is what I plan to do too, or as much of it as the modern world will allow me anyway. I will be going to bed early. I will be watching the rain from the comfort of home wearing bed socks and a blanket. I will not be making any resolutions that require too much exertion, because this is my time to power up in preparation for Spring when I will need to be fully charged and ready to leap into action.
Of course there is still work to do and so I'll need to make sure I fuel my body with delicious and nutritious grub to keep me going throughout these dark months. Now that we’ve had a good frost the parsnips will have turned their starches into sugar and the hearty stew I’ll be making myself will taste better for it. There are sprouts remaining that will also taste sweeter and cooked up with chestnuts and pancetta will give me the energy boost I'll need to stay warm in the cold weather. The last slice of Christmas cake will also help.
On top of all of that there are gentle things we can do to remind us that Spring isn’t far away and one of my favourites is to pot up bulbs. It is absolutely not too late, and certainly not if you want to have a beautiful indoor display that will replace all of the greenery and cheer we’ve just stripped from our homes now twelfth night has arrived.
Tulips hate being soggy and so I always wait until after Christmas to pot up my doorstep displays for a blast of welcome spring colour, and that’s not all; you can still purchase hyacinth and narcissus bulbs that can be popped into trifle bowls, jelly moulds, teacups and any other container you choose to dot around your house, Just make sure you have drainage in the form of holes and a layer of grit at the bottom of your container and dont over water. If you are one of those peculiar people that adore the scent of paperwhites, then collect a few spindly twigs to create a loose frame that will support the flowers once they open.
Hellebores will be out in force very soon and rather than miss the best of them while we’re hunkered down inside, bring them into the house. Cut just a few stems for a bud vase and pair them with evergreen foliage or a few hyacinth once they’ve caught up. You can extend their vase life by searing the ends on just off the boil water for a few seconds before adding to your arrangement. There is still lots to combat the grey and enjoy the chance to rest, while you can.