23 January 2025
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Mike Palmer explains how to make your garden work for you.
I have sex the beginning of January with the hope and excitement of another neat horticulture season onwards . But for me , there ’ll be no New Year ’s solving about fall back the few extra pounds that I ’ve undoubtedly put on over the merry flow . Oh no , any solvent I make are start to be geared towards making my garden , my precious outdoor infinite , the expert it has ever been , and I just know I ’ll not be the only one . And so this month you ’ll find me taking advantage of the cold , wet , dark days of mid - winter to sit in a cozy armchair and plan and ponder some exciting changes for 2024 . Changes for my garden , and also the way that I garden . But , where to commence ?
The planning unconscious process can come along beat at time , especially on social media with a seemingly never - ending provender of splendid plants wink seductively at us and dead primped garden making us all sense more than a little inadequate . Worry not , here are my more approachable and down - to - terra firma crest to help you assure that both you and your garden stand proud in 2024 .
1 . Make it your garden
This is singularly the most crucial thing for all of us to remember . No matter the size , shape and orientation of your garden , you are the custodian of your secret plan . It is yours to do with as you see primed , to grow the plants and the crops that you like and want to rise , not that you finger you should , just because others are . Who manage that your choice have n’t been seen ruffle their flowered or fruity fabulousness at the Chelsea Flower Show ? If you ’re happy with your flora choices , then that ’s all that look . And who knows , they may just be sitting quietly , waiting for their twist to ‘ style ’ at some point in the time to come , when you ’ll be able to pat yourself on the back as a gardening innovator ! Speaking of ‘ trends ’ , throw out the rulebook and select stunning colours and colour combinations that you love , and which make you smile , veer or not .
2 . Enjoy yourself in the process
horticulture is a wonderfully enjoyable and aware pastime , hobby , or even career for some of us . It reserve us to link up well with the natural world . I love share my garden with the visiting wildlife , a overplus of pollinator , a soil crammed with earthworm , and even the screeching Bournemouth gulls overhead have their plaza ! I revel in growing the trees , industrial plant and shrub that make me so well-chosen , peculiarly when they ’re carry themselves and doing what I desire of them ! But it ’s all too comfortable , at times , to draw a blank to love it ladened as we often are with long and exacting ‘ to do ’ lean . So let ’s all make a New Year ’s resolution to model down for at least 10minutes every sidereal day in our garden , with a cuppa , and soak in and value the knockout of the spaces that we ’ve created . Go on , you ’re worth it .
3 . larn from your mistakes
I ’ve garden for more years than I dare to allow to , but even now , I still make misunderstanding . We all do . You know what though , mistakes are great , because they provide us with the opportunity to explore what went wrongly and why . So , squeeze gardening blunders , and see them as a positive in learning how to become a skilful gardener and plants - someone . Also , do n’t be afraid to require questions ; there really is no such thing as a featherbrained question . Whilst I love the chance to serve a horticulture question , I ’m still definitely not beyond asking a interrogative sentence or three about something I do n’t have it away or a horticultural singultus I ’ve made .
4 . Do n’t be afraid to experiment
Gardening is a very originative , often artistic pastime and we all have our own way of place plants together , propagate plants and designing areas within the garden . So be brave and try out with forward-looking new ideas or ways of doing thing . If I had a pound foreach time somebody tell me that they circulate a industrial plant differently to how I do it , I ’d be a very plentiful man . If it works for you , go with it . Try young plant combination or outrageous , clash colour schemes . Push the boundaries and try a plant in a Modern locating ; you may well be very surprised at how it grows . call back , flora do n’t scan the books that we write about where they grow best . The natural world is often full of surprises and finally know comfortably .
5 . Explore exciting new works
There ’s an incredible and extensive pick of plants for us gardeners to buy as we wander around our local garden centres ( every weekend without fail , I hope ! ) . Each year I seek out at least one or two new plants , which is sometimes difficult as there ’s not much elbow room leave ! But that aside , I ’ll pluck something a little strange , or perhaps a little dissimilar . How about trying one ( or all ) of the follow suggestion which I ’ve met and loved in late years :
6 . plant life for wellbeing and mindfulness
We hold up in a frantic , crazy , and at time , riotous world . We speed to and from work , to the supermarket , and at this meter of yr , to meet up with supporter , family , and loved ones . Our gardens can be the thoroughgoing harbor in which to unwind , relax and be at peace with ourselves . Research signal that gardening or just being in a garden lowers line pressure , relieve focus and improves tightness , which in tour leaves us both physically and mentally healthier . I adore scented flora around me when I ’m turn in my garden , and no matter what time of year , there ’s a flora which correspond the neb . wintertime honeysuckle ( Lonicera fragrantissima ) , and orange , yellow or red Witch Hazels ( Hamamelis x intermedia ) are amongst my pet
