Anna Taylor, owner of Anna’s Flower Farm in Audley End, shares what’s going on in the garden this month
I can’t be the only one who has high hopes for 2022. It’s said that gardeners are, typically, an optimistic bunch. And, I’d add, we are in constant awe of nature, of how can a tiny seed can become a tall flowering plant within weeks (Exhibit A – cosmos).
This year, I’m banking on the energy of that optimism and awe, starting January with a fresh notebook, new Christmas snips and a hori hori knife for weeding (in a snazzy holder, thank you Niwaki), together with a smart fountain pen for taking notes. I am ready for the challenge.
I don’t usually go in for New Year’s resolutions – January is dark enough not to add abstinence into the mix. Instead, I have a ‘resolve list’ for the garden. Even in the dark midwinter, I retain that excitement for the year ahead. Committing these notes to print will, I hope, promote success! Here is what I have so far:
1 It is my year of compost! Turning the heaps is usually way down on my list, but after just spreading barrows today, it is utterly joyful to recycle the garden through the heaps. I know I can make much more – and quicker, too.
2 Seedlings will be potted-on swiftly and not left to idle in their trays. This should be an easy one, as we’ve just extended our little polytunnel, and it’s one of my favourite places to be. I will also be teaching much more from there – that point between germination and planting out is one of the most enjoyed practical sessions in our classes.
3 I’m going to carry a sharp hoe as I walk around the garden, and most importantly, will use it! I was never taught to work a hoe – it was always hand weeding for me. But, more recently, I have learnt how invaluable these tools can be. Slice off a weed on a warm, dry mid-morning, and it will shrivel in the sun, leaving the roots to feed the soil microbes and the plants you want to grow. It saves so much time and, best of all, doesn’t disturb the soil at all. I read that, on a summer evening, if you hoe soil close around plants, as much as a couple of millimetres of dew can be collected from the warm air beneath. This essentially creates a self-watering system – making your life easier.
4 That new notebook I bought will stay in the studio, in the centre of the plots, and I hope to scribble a line or two whenever I remember. Recording observations is well known to aid memory, and I like the idea of flicking back and remembering the garden through the seasons this time next year. I find this method is better than photos. Somehow, writing will take me back to the time, emotion and experience in a way a photograph doesn’t manage.
5 Finally, I like to have a new project and have been inspired by Great Dixter and their exotic garden. I fancy some cannas again, after not growing them for several house moves. I also want melianthus, verbena bonariensis and single flowered, bright-coloured dahlias, in pots all around our large table, intermingled with our succulents. I can see it now, sitting out on a warm morning or balmy sunset, surrounded by a jungle of colour and foliage. I am really looking forward to it and hope you come to visit and join me. Very best wishes for a happy New Year to you.
