January can be a gloomy time. The seasonal merriments are over and for some our bodies are gripped by coughs and sneezes. So there is no better tonic than to witness the soft green tips of the first snowdrops, crocuses and even daffodils poking through in the milder areas. You don’t need to own acres to appreciate what I am talking about. At this time of year in the garden it is all about detail.
At a distance from the window all I can see is a slightly shabby blustery scene, with my hardy evergreens holding their own and last year’s seed heads bobbing and bending as they are buffeted around. And then through a gap I am drawn to the bright vermillion stems of a dogwood standing out against a dark conifer beyond. The sun catches the tips of some grasses and they take on a fiery glow and shimmer as they dance in the wind.
If I am brave and venture out of the warmth of the house I am rewarded. As I draw closer to some heathers I notice tiny bright green new buds, each with its own little compact form and filled with promise. The cushion of green made from hundreds of these buds massed together has the appearance of a kind of halo covering the plant.
One of the delights for me is the new glaucus fleshy leaves of Ice Plants (Sedum Spectabile). They are still so low to the ground you could miss them if you walk too quickly. Each bud is a rosette and after it has been raining, water droplets rest on them forming small lenses, which catch the light and sparkle.
Despite the freezing weather other shrubs are bursting with life. The lilacs Weigelas, Camelias and Rhododendrons all have different coloured and shaped buds – conical greens, pip-shaped purples, marbles of pink and crowns of yellow. It is now that you can begin to see the life cycle of the plant; new growth where you might have pruned to make room for last years stems to flourish. It all begins to make sense. Even the hard pruned rambling rose is showing signs of its vigour and once more threatening to take over the garden!
Its also a worrying time in the garden as you are not sure what might have succumbed to the winter conditions and whether the plant you cut back last October will indeed survive as the book says it should. For many perennials it is far too early to know, but the relief and surprise to see signs of recovery elsewhere certainly fill me with hope and reassurance that despite some winter suffering and economic gloom, somewhere, somehow signs of renewal can always be found.
