The garden is definitely waking up, birds are singing again and there are lots of things flowering – snowdrops, crocuses, cyclamen coum, as well as flowering shrubs and trees, like winter flowering cherries and cornus mas. Although we still feel at times to be in the grip of winter it is a hopeful time. But we have to be aware that winter blasts may still be around the corner and keep a weather eye out. It is still very early, a lot of Tattenhall gardens will be very soggy, so you may need to wait to get out and do all the jobs that are needed.
I struggle at this time of the year with wanting to tidy up the garden, having left seed heads to look good in the frost, and for insects and birds. Last year, I enjoyed watching chaffinches eat the seed from the Phlomis russeliana, which has wonderful seedheads, but then the tidy gardener in me reveals itself and by now I want to see fresh growth. Fergus Garrett recommends cutting back hollow stems to 12-15 inches to preserve overwintering insects, and then to leave chopped up stems onto soil, again to provide for the insects. It may look untidy but the spring growth will soon take over. So being a eco-friendly gardener does mean a change in behaviour and understanding.
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Photograph: Hardy cyclamen coum
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