The tasks of winter in the garden, it seems to me, are twofold.
On the one hand there are practical things that need our attention. Pruning out the hazels, tidying up the rose arch and the bentwood hornbeam tunnels. There is some strimming to be done in the longer grass where daffodils and narcissi will be pushing through even before the year’s end. There are leaves to rake, first into serpentine forms if the fancy takes, and then piled up to make leaf mould or dragged onto weeded borders as a mulch. There’s also planting, mainly of trees and shrubs. This December in an unusual mild spell, I’ve been busy putting in rowans, acers, juniper and viburnum. Then don’t forget the vegetable patch – cleaning out some of the raised beds, tidying up the leeks, keeping watch for the garlic to appear in bright shining rows. Such are the tasks we take on when feeling energised or called outside by a spell of sunshine and a patch or two of blue sky on a winter’s day.
But there is another exquisite garden task in winter that should not be ignored or under-estimated. I am thinking about contemplation. For when the leaves are gone, the garden reveals to us its structure, drawing our eye in different ways and suggesting new ideas. When snow and frosts come (not much this year) the appearance of the garden is further enhanced. Winter is a time for deeper thoughts and plans. It’s also a time for reading and for entering the storied world where the unique array of relationships between gardeners and gardens are revealed in all their fascination.
Both sets of garden tasks are important in winter time, though the second is of course the more tempting!
The full list of pieces that make up my A-Z in the Dumfriesshire Garden in 2024 can be found here: https://davidgrahamclark.net/a-z-of-the-dumfriesshire-garden-in-2024/
Quotidian 