Pat Duke: Natural antidote to January's gloom

Many people feel that January is the most depressing month for gardening with its monochrome outlook, soggy ground and freezing temperatures. 

In fact, you might decide that once you've recovered from the ubiquitous winter flu that’s been doing the rounds not much has changed outdoors. 

Whilst this can be true, there are also a raft of jobs to do whilst the weeds are in abeyance. Mulching, weeding, tidying, sharpening and maintaining tools are all traditional January jobs.

Keeping warm indoors on a wet day scheming and planning what new or exotic varieties of flowers and veg you might have a go at this year is a pleasure. 

Buying seeds from a small local supplier is one of the delights of January. Doing it sitting in front of the fire with a mug of tea just elevates the experience. 

I find it helps to draw a specific plan on paper of what you’ll grow and in what beds. On a separate piece of paper you can list the different varieties of annuals or new perennials you'll be dropping in. 

Bare root plants can be put in now to enjoy the moisture this time of year offers and promote root health. 

January is also a traditional time for redesigning the garden as paths can be cut in easily while the ground can be quite malleable and groundwork can take place where the spade becomes more of a precision tool shaping paths and walkways. 

Towards the end of January can be a transition time where there isn’t much colour or flowers.  

Winter aconyte ‘Eranthis hyemalis’ bridges the two seasons with its bright yellow flowers. Witch hazel looks (and smells) impressive with its almost saffron shredded petals. Alongside these another inbetweener is the white stemmed bramble ‘Rubus cockburnianus’ that offers clouds of ephemeral white stems that are surprisingly bright. 

These will brighten the place up and give you motivation to stroll around the garden when you might otherwise just be doomscrolling or avoiding housework. 

On the Plot

It’s time to pull out and harvest winter crops like parsnips, leeks and brassicas. 

I like to do this now so it gives me plenty of time to dig over and mulch the beds for the next rotation of crops and planting when spring arrives. 

This will in actual fact be here before we know it, so preparing beds now is a good idea to give the worms time to drag everything into the soil. 

You can incorporate any leaf mould you’ve been keeping and generally have a good clear out of the compost bins. 

Being a transition time means preparing things for when the actual change in seasons is here so you are not caught out and miss the sowing and planting windows. 

Nobody likes it when a passer by raises their eyebrows and gets sniffy at the fact you have not got your onions in when they have. 

Order your veg seeds and find a local organic supplier if you can. We are fortunate in having plenty of seed suppliers in Devon that save seed that is well adapted to the local climate which will increase the likelihood of success and a bountiful harvest. 

Go over the perennial herb bed and cut away any dead material to reduce the likelihood of disease. This will also allow more light and rain to get in.

 When everything is cut back then cover the base of each plant with compost to give them a decent start when it starts to warm up. This will also insulate the roots if there is any frost around. 

Just as late winter is hard for us, it’s also difficult for birds, mammals and other wildlife so put some feed out for them so they can do their valuable work when we need them later in the year.