Grey days, please stay away. What a stagnant wearisome month, full of dirty dish cloth days, where sky fused with the land and everything sulked. As some consolation? The Christmas Poinsettia muddled through and survived. I did enjoy the defiance of nature and in the garden, Snowdrops have done the business (albeit a few days later than last year) and I always see them as the herald of better days.

I have also noted some good winter flower on shrubs. In our own garden, the fragrant white Winter honeysuckle and the cheery yellow Chimonanthus have both been a delight. They are shrubby and free standing and can grow up around two metres, flowering on naked wood and so are conspicuous in their profusion. If you are looking for winter shrubs, then check them out, together with Viburnum and Mahonia.

Last month I encouraged the planting of a few seeds on windowsills and am thrilled to have some very early tomato plants ready to prick out. There is nothing like a home grown tomato and whilst we are a long way from a crop, these plants make me smile. I have become a real fan of the variety Romello, which is a very hardy plum cherry with a terrific flavour. When the weather is right they will grow outside and they are so prolific. If I only had room for one variety this year it would be Romello.

So as we move on into March and the days extend, the opportunities to garden open out. This month we can still be planting Onion sets, Garlic and shallots, but towards the end of the month we can also start to set out some seed potatoes. I am inclined to plant earlies, second earlies and maincrop all around the same time. Each group grows at a different and whilst earlies can come to harvest inside of 12 weeks maincrop will stay in the ground until early autumn.

We can also get on with some more general seed sowing this month, certainly getting basic veg and some hardy annuals underway. If you have a greenhouse or conservatory then your sowing can extend to include more tender subjects. Be vigilant with your rodent management and make sure that seed packets end up in a sealed container. The mice are still hungry.

And finally have a go at setting up a compost heap. It is hugely rewarding to see nature at work.

Happy Gardening

Chris Evans
www.dundrynurseries.co.uk
www.thebutterflygarden.org