STEP OUTSIDE

There hasn't really been a 'winter' this year; only a couple of very short cold snaps, which admittedly were cold enough to finish off a couple of pelargoniums that had, until then, still been flowering.  I always risk leaving them outside every year but I do usually pop them into my sheltered and covered walkway to the side of the house.  This winter, as the weather was so mild, I became complacent and left them out on my window ledge purely because they continued to flower.  Had I given them cover at the right time, I'm sure I would still have them now.

Still, all is not lost; the cold only affected two plants, leaving me with a few others to see me through the coming growing season, which I have now pruned back and re-potted and already they are sprouting and enjoying the early spring sunshine and fresh compost.

There's no doubt that warm sunshine puts me in a positive move and indeed it's lifting everyone's spirits.  I heard the first lawn mower last week-end and already neighbouring back gardens are alive with children playing.  Everyone is stepping outside to enjoy the warm spring sunshine.  

There's only the looming hosepipe ban from 1 April that is blighting the horizon but I'll cross that bridge later.

Here is a link to my March 2011 post. 

NIGHT SNOW

On Saturday night, 4 February, the snow fell silently while we snuggled-up in front of the TV.  It arrived in the early evening and it was bang on cue - the weather men had been forecasting its arrival all week. We had been warned so it was prudent, therefore, to assume we were all forearmed.  We were all on 'high alert' and ready for the big white drop.

We English are obsessed with the weather and in an effort not to be 'caught out' as in previous winters, the Authorities are apparently prepared this year with sufficient means to deal with clearing the roads, runways and routes, so none of us are inconvenienced as we go about our daily business and to ensure that nobody can be blamed for not having organised enough snow ploughs and stock piles of salt and grit.  Of course, it could turn out to be THE WRONG KIND OF SNOW for which somebody is bound to be blamed!

Anyone reading this blog from outside of the UK is probably bemused to learn that here in the UK our Authorities seem never to be prepared for winter, even though it happens every year!  This sends our tabloid newspaper journalists into a fantastical, feeding frenzy of freezing snow stories with headlines like SNOW-GO HEATHROW and IT WILL BE SNOW BETTER FOR WEEKS and SNOW BRINGS CHAOS and PANIC and THE BIG FREEZE WILL LAST A WHOLE MONTH!!   A whole  month!  It's so laughable. It is winter after all, and it is only weather, yet here in the UK we treat it as headline news.  It's not news; it's weather - deal with it!  

Anyhow, the upshot is that today (Monday 6 February 2012) in SW London where I am, it is as if it never happened - all the snow has gone save for the odd pile in the corners of the garden, but they will soon melt away.  That said, there are areas of the country that are cut off and for them it is a problem.

I've always wanted to be snowed in.  It sounds like fun if you're prepared and with all the pre-snow fuss in the newspapers there's no excuse not to be.  For those lucky enough to be snowed-in, I offer a word of gardening advice - get out in the garden with a long-handled broom and knock the snow off your plants.  It looks lovely but believe me if you leave heavy snow to settle, particularly on evergreen shrubs, the weight will flatten them irrecoverably and, likewise, the weight is quite capable of breaking large tree branches.  If you don't deal with it NOW, come the spring your garden will look as if an army has marched all over it.  

DR. WHO?

Although he's not a time-travelling Time Lord, this Doctor has been helping gardeners for over 50 years with his 'Expert' books.

The Doctor I am referring to is Dr. D.G. Hessayon, who wrote his first gardening title Be Your Own Gardening Expert in 1958 - then a new style guide covering many aspects of plant care in a succinct and easy to follow style.   There have been countless numbers of gardening books in the intervening period that have come and gone but the Experts have continued to sell and sell. There are now 26 'Expert' books in 23 languages and 53 million copies in print.  They are undoubtedly the best-selling gardening books in history.

There's nothing fancy about them, which is probably why they have remained such a favourite across the world for over 50 years.  OK, they're not full of hip and glossy photographs and snazzy text; they just tell you exactly what you want to know in a clear and concise way. I love my glossy gardening books but I never fail to reach for the appropriate Expert for a quick and easy to find answer to any question I may have. 

In 1993 The Doctor received a Life Achievement 'Oscar' in the National Book Awards.  He has an OBE and several honorary doctorates and he was awarded the RHS Veitch Memorial Medal.  He also holds a Guinness World Record Certificate - presumably for selling so many copies.

Dr. Hessayon always promised that one day he would write a truly comprehensive Expert covering all aspects of gardening.  It was a task that he kept putting off until 'next year' and now 'next year' has arrived as his new title The Complete Garden Expert rolls off the press in March 2012.

And it doesn't disappoint either - it looks identical to all the other Experts only a bit fatter - well we all put on weight as we get older! This one-stop guide is the Expert you've been waiting for, covering as it does the following topics:

Garden Soil

Gardenn Weather

Flowers

Garden Tasks

Vegetables

Garden Tools

Trees & Shrubs

Garden Troubles

Herbs

Garden Styles

Fruit

Garden Design

Roses

Garden Features

Lawns

Greenhouses

Ponds

A word from the Doctor ...

'Condensing and updating all the gardening Experts into one book was a harder job than I thought - I guess I was right to put if off for so long!  I hope you think the effort was worthwhile'.

The Complete Garden Expert

Author: Dr. D. G. Hessayon

ISBN: 9780903505987

Price: £11.99

Pages: 256

Publication date: 1 March 2012.

For more information and to check out the other titles available go to www.expertbooks.co.uk

BED HEAD

I'm always intensely irritated when I hear people say that they've 'put the garden to bed for winter'.  What's that all about?!  There's obviously much less to do during the winter months but 'putting it to bed' sounds more like 'out of sight, out of mind'!  

I love gardening in the winter months and I'm out there as often as possible planning changes and improvements for next year, cutting down the perennials, pulling out the annuals and cleaning up leaves so that the brown earth is once more visible and able to breathe.    Is that ' putting the garden to bed'?  Putting anything 'to bed' gives the impression of tucking in the sheets whereas in reality the winter garden is actually laid bare and looks more like the duvet has been completely whipped off!

I'm more inclined to describe a fully laden summer border as being 'put to bed'; all plumped-up and brimming with blossoms and blooms with barely a gap in sight; all snuggled up, cosy and warm.  And then tucking in a few more plants along the way to fill any spaces, while chatting as I go, as if telling a bedtime story and then blowing an imaginary kiss goodnight.  I can't wait!

THE NATURIST CENTRE

I've just received a disc containing images of a garden I designed (front and back) in London.  Just so you know, my client doesn't wander around naked as the lovely vintage sign in the garden might suggest!  She just likes quirky, salvaged one-off items she picks up at car boot sales and antique shops.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

It's been a month or more since I last wrote a post - December found me buzzing around like a bee, tidying up gardens for clients who were planning to stay at home for Christmas (myself included).

It was the warmest Christmas on record, certainly in London and today (New Year's Day 2012) I am out in the garden in short sleeves!  It's lovely out there and it's a perfect day for gardening.