I was on the North Yorkshire Moors this time last week and it made me think about the powerful effect of wind on plants.

The flora on the moors (I was on the Rutland Rigg to be precise) is low growing and hummocky in shape. Nothing above this size flourishes at the top of the moors because the wind is so stong it dries out anything that grows taller than it’s surroundings. The precise action of the wind is that it quickly removes moisure from leaves in it’s path, these leaves are more vulnerable to dying from dessication as are the buds on the same side. This action produces those windswept and shaped trees that you often see alongside roads as you travel uphill. As only the leaves and buds on the side away from the prevailing wind can flourish wind distorts the growth pattern of the plant. The effect is strongly scuptural.

The low growth on the moors forms a protective barrier to the growth around it and to the soil below by diffusing the wind, not blocking it but instead breaking it up and slowing it as it passed over and through the plants. If those plants die then the soil becomes exposed and is more likely to dry out and blow around as dust.

Hedges form an effective barrier to wind, many species are hardy enough to cope with wind. Plants with shiny and waxy leaves resist water loss from their leaves better. Evergreens are adapted with their needle-shaped leaves to resist water loss from the plant. All plants help to break up and slow down winds, this contrasts to the way a wall may actually act as a barrier that makes powerful gusts blow up and over, spiralling currents over plants behind the wall that we may think are protected.

Down at the allotment, things are stirring, and I don’t just mean the weeds. The lengthening hours of daylight and a spell of dry weather have conspired to encourage allotment holders, like small furry animals fresh from hibernation, outside again. I myself have done a couple of days of digging and tidying on my own plot and I was pleased to see a slow-worm warming itself on the top of the compost heap when I added the old trimmed autumn raspberry canes on Saturday.

There may not be much on my plot to harvest, just a few leeks, but it’s time to start sowing the seeds for this year’s veggie (and flower) harvest. Although I should probably add that if frost or heavy wet weather are forecast you might be better to wait a couple of weeks before you begin, your location in the UK determines when you should begin as the further north you live, the more likely it is you need to wait a bit.

This weekend I’ll have a long list of jobs to do including: a few bits of tidying, a last pathway to cover in cardboard, plastic and wood-chippings and some seed sowing to complete. Hardy broad bean seeds can be sown outdoors, as can calabrese, spinach, spring onions and carrots. I’ll sow leek seeds outdoors but in a seed tray so I can pot them on without using valuable bed space. My seed potatoes are chitting nicely and all have strong shoots growing but I won’t be planting them just yet as they are sensitive to frost. Having had my first (rather optimistic) planting of potatoes set firmly back by a frost the year I started the allotment, I have learned my lesson!

If you have been thinking about having your garden redesigned, or perhaps you want to sell your house and are looking for ways to add value to it, now is the best time to talk to a garden designer about the project.

Like most design projects the dialogue between designer and client to find the right solution can take time. There are practical considerations like booking builders and contractors to actually do the works when the design is finalised. Thinking about garden design in the late winter means that all the paper-based work can be done, contactors found and booked, and decisions made in time for the actual work to begin before the summer months. It is also easier to conduct building works when there isn’t snow and ice around to make concrete and brickwork difficult to do.

If you would like to talk about redesigning your garden, or you would like more information about the design process, Please contact me on 07956 906053 or email charlotte AT creategardendesign DOT co DOT uk and I will be happy to discuss it with you.

The weather has put a stop to gardening!

It can be a useful aid that shows you where the blank areas of your garden are and allows you to plan where you want to fill gaps in the coming spring.

I’d like to visit the allotment, but it’s like a skating rink outside and the snow is still falling. Gardeners generally get a few things sorted out at this time of the year but with this weather it’s proving difficult to make a start.

I would be pruning my autumn fruiting raspberries if I could get to them. The summer fruiting varieties are the easiest to prune as all the stems from last year are cut down to ground level in late winter or early spring. This time last year I was doing the work but it doesn’t matter so much if they are left until the weather improves. These plants will make a new set of stems that bear fruit this autumn and you’ll want to cut the old stems down before these new ones appear.

I will also be chitting my seed potatoes - one job that isn’t affected by the snow as I’ll be finding a cool and light place to put my tray of spuds so they form small shoots (the same shoots you have to scrape off when you want to cook your potatoes) that will grow away when they are planted out in late march.

I would really like to finish the digging and path-making that I started in December at the plot. The last few paths will mean my plot is at last fully cultivated but at the moment it is just too cold to bother with, maybe in a few weeks! There is no point in trying to dig frozen ground to finish my cultivation of two new raised beds, it is possible to damage the structure of the soil (and damage the tiny creatures living in it that contribute to a healthy soil) by digging it while frozen.

It might be possible to plant a few onion and shallot sets in small pots or modules to give them a head start when the weather improves. I will be placing mine in a coldframe insulated with bubblewrap. At least I will feel as thought I have achieved something while the weather is against me!

Here is where to begin: The Whitchurch Potato Festival, in Hampshire on the 24th and 25th of January.

There will be many, many, varieties of potato to choose from (judging by past years) and even some sexy disease resistant varieties. You can also get gardening advice, buy or swap seeds and buy plants on the day. It’s usually a couple of quid to get in and make sure you get a catalogue of the varieties that will help you choose the varieties by cooking method and pest/disease resistance.

I can’t recommend these days enough. They allow you to buy small quantities of seed potatoes, in contrast to often having to buy kilos of them from the seed merchant catalogues. Tubers are priced individually at 15p each, or you can still buy them by the 2.5kg bag. This means you can buy just enough for your space and try several varieties to get crops across a longer period or to find ones you prefer the taste of.

My own favourites include:

‘Epicure’ - always reliable, good cropper and untouched (on my patch at least) by pest or disease.
‘Fleur Pecheur’ - Pink potatoes, lovely roasted, small size but lots of them.
‘Arran Victory’ - lots of fab purple potatoes.

PS. I bought a bag of shallots ‘Jermor’ at the festival last year and they were a real success. I’ll be trying a different variety this year. Simply plant into small pots and plant them out when the weather warms up a bit in early spring. They needed almost no attention apart from a bit of water for the first few weeks, I harvested simply bags of them in august.

You have probably already noticed, but here are a few pointers for gerdening in the cold.

Don’t leave potted plants sitting in dishes of water, because the rootball is likely to be wet when the water in the dish freezes the cold will travel into the roots of the plant. This is not likely to do them any good. I usually put pots on their sides in wet and cold weather to help stop the roots getting too wet.

Planting, digging and sowing are usually discouraged if the groud is waterlogged or frozen. Not only will the work be difficult, it can also damage the structure of the soil and most plants and seeds won’t thrive in cold and wet ground. Wait until it warms up a bit first.

Feed your local birds. It’s tough beight small and hungry at this time of year, supplies of berries and insects are low and the cold weather means they need more calories to survive. Peanuts, bacon rind, crumbs of cake and seed mixes will all help them survive to eat the caterpillars off your roses next summer. Try to find a place to put out water too, I have to remove the ice from my bird bath daily but watching them splash about when I get back into the warmth makes the job worthwhile.

Perhaps you will be rewarded by a sighting of one of these little fellas, like I was today, for your efforts.

It’s always good to have something to look at through these short and dark days, here are just a few of the things that I grow that are still going strong in December.

Stipa tenuissima - wispy looking grass that is getting more golden as winter comes on and moves gracefully in the wind. It has a pleasing fountain shape too.

Penstemon - I grow two different types purple flowering ‘Garnet’ and red ‘Maurice Gibb’ and they are still in flower with buds still to come. These plants really seem to keep going through all the cold and wet weather.

Rosa ‘Charlotte’ and ‘William Morris’  - These are ‘English’ Roses from David Austin and not only are there still flowers on both of them but they seemed to be growing until late in November.

Hellebores - I have some hybrid hellebores that were from a plant fair and so have no names but they are covered in buds and bright green foliage. I can’t wait for the flowers to come and cheer up the shady area where I planted them.

Box - evergreen box is often listed as a winter plant and the ability to shape it by clipping means that the shapes take on more importance in the garden as other plants die off for the winter.

Sage - evergreen sage is still looking good in my back garden and it looks even better with frost all over the grey-green leaves. Handy for soups too.

There is disagreement between gardeners between growing food crops in open ground or using a series of defined beds with paths in-between. I opted for the beds and permanent paths. I find it is easier for me to work out my crop rotation with a series of defined beds and woodchip paths make keeping my boots clean in winter wet easier.

I started some work on Saturday morning at the plot and remembered why the beds were such a good idea, needed to put in my onion sets I had a quick look at last years rotation plan and decided that they could go in the bed that held Cauliflowers previously. It just needed a loosen with a fork, raking, and then planting.

Working on the bed from the path also meant my boots stayed mostly mud-free.

Next on the planting list, garlic cloves.

I always try to record in a notebok all the things i have grown at the allotment, and which ones have been the most successful. This gives me something to look back on and will eventually provide me with a list of sure-fire winners I can return to growing year-after-year.

This year, even with all the rain, has not been without successes.

Courgettes
These are always fairly easy but the amount of rain this year seemed to turbo charge my courgettes and at times there were simply too many to use. It’s good that my neighbours like them too! I always grow a variety of shapes and colours including ‘Zucchino Romanesco’ from Franchi seeds. These are mid-green fruits with long ridges down the sides that store well in the fridge. I also grew two types from the Kings Seeds catologue: Dark green ‘Zuccini’ and the spherical yellow ‘Floridor F1′.

Shallots
I have never grown these before but they were incredibly easy. I bought sets from my local Potato Festival and planted them in late january into small pots of compost. In late february these were planted out at the allotment and watered in. I did no more than weeding until July when the foliage began to die off and I harvested them. I still have a large bowl to use in cooking and I may keep a few for planting next year. The variety I grew is called ‘Jermor’.

Carrots
Up till now my efforts with carrots have been dismal. My soil is heavy and full of stones, not a recipe for great carrots and so I tried a short rooted variety (from Kings Seeds again) called ‘Paris Market Baron’ this year in the hope that they would be able to grow despite the soil conditions. I have managed to get a far better crop than ever before, although there were losses to the slugs.