Dear Gardening Friends,
I have to admit that February is not my favorite month and luckily it is a short one. The cold weather and brief gardening days make it rather a trial and I am always glad when March rolls around. One bright spot in the garden is that I can obsess about my snowdrop collection. I always hope that the weather will cooperate, and not cover my little snowdrops in snow for the whole month. I go outside and peer at each clump of nodding white bells to see what has just opened and what might be new and different.
The blog below highlights a few of my favorite snowdrop types. In America it is more difficult to obtain a wide range of snowdrops at a reasonable price compared to what is available in Europe. But I enjoy what I have and love multiplying them to make more. Instructions are in the blog.
February is also a great month to catch up on your garden reading. It is addictive and fun to scroll through garden pictures on Instagram—yes, I love it too—but go to your local bookshop or library and find something that will be a treat of a read. Look for something that speaks to you. What would you like to know more about to prepare or inspire you for this coming gardening year?
On another positive February note I will be doing some garden lectures, so I do hope that I see some of you on the road. Details are in the news section. Please make sure that you come and say hello. I would love to know how your garden grows.
Book Sighted!
Thank you to Kristin for spotting The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Guide at the Wayne bookshop, right next to Bill Thomas and the team’s great book about Chanticleer.
Come See Me At….
The Northwest Flower and Garden Show
On February 18th and 19th 2023 I will be speaking at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle. I will be lecturing on two different topics to do with growing flowers—tying in with my new book, The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Guide. I will also be taking part in the crowd-pleasing “Container Wars.” Sign up here.
Master Gardeners of Allegheny County
On February 25th I will be doing a zoom presentation for the Master Gardeners of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. There will be a write up in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, so look out for that if you are in that area. Join their Facebook page.
Philadelphia Flower Show
The Philadelphia Flower Show is indoors again this year. It runs from Saturday, March 4th until Sunday, the 12th. It is well worth a visit for so many reasons. I hope to see you there. Learn more.
Master Gardeners of Erie
At the end of March and beginning of April I will be in Erie, Pennsylvania doing a couple of lectures for Master Gardeners and then a Spring Seminar.
In the Garden: The Newspaper Wall
I don’t know about you, but my winter dreams are full of ideas for how I am going to change my garden, add new features, or improve an old area. One of our latest projects is a newspaper wall. I saw one once and since that time I have been saving my New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Ambler Gazette. The papers have been cluttering up the back kitchen in the Carriage House for years now. In fact, they were becoming a bit of a fire and safety hazard. Joe, who works for us, has been complaining that he couldn’t get into his shop without tripping over the bundles. It was time for them to go out.
So why would I even want a newspaper wall? If you Google “Newspaper Wall” you get images of decorating schemes that show how to wallpaper your walls using newspaper. Not exactly what I had in mind. I was trying to describe to Joe what it was, and, in the end, I had to draw it out.
The thought is to take your newspapers and reuse them instead of sending them to be recycled—you hope. I know that I may be a little behind the times (Ha! Funny joke—New York Times) in still taking a physical paper, but I spend so much of my life looking at a screen it is quite a relief to look at real paper. It is also all about the feel and the noise as you fold and refold.
After much walking around the garden to find a place for the hypothetical wall, we identified a spot near the hügelkultur.—more about them in another blog. I wanted to combine the wall with another rain garden or ditch to collect more water for wet-loving plants.
The newspaper bundles were tied up with biodegradable twine, so we just laid them like bricks in a wall. They were then covered with soil from the ditch and then some woodchips that promptly floated away in the first storm. There is a stepping-stone path through the middle to allow access. All that has been planted so far are some water-loving iris. We will see if they come through the winter.
I will keep you posted about the newspaper wall garden and how it develops. What are you planning to do in your garden this spring? I hope that you will let me know.
A Love Letter to Snowdrops
I am often asked to name my favorite flower and sometimes I reply that that would be like naming my favorite child – watch out girls if you are reading this – I still might start playing favorites. However, if asked in the month of February there is very little competition and the enchanting genus of Galanthus, or snowdrops, will usually win out.
What do I love about snowdrops? Read on to find out!
Book Club: The Adventurous Gardener
If you are in the mood for some inspirational winter reading, pick up any of Christopher Lloyd’s gardening books. The one that I have chosen for you this month, The Adventurous Gardener, is a classic that turns forty years old this year. You may have heard me mention Christopher Lloyd before and I am sure that I will mention him again.
Christopher, or Christo, as his friends called him, lived for the majority of his life at his family home, Great Dixter. It is located in the county of Sussex in south-east England and is surrounded by and influenced by the adjacent countryside. The house forms the centerpiece of the garden. As you circumnavigate the house you catch glimpses of it from different vantage points. The well-aged farm buildings lend a timeless air to the overall scene. It is quite enchanting.
I have visited Great Dixter many times. Each time I learn something new and come away re-inspired to further my gardening efforts. I think that Christopher’s legacy is one of educating a whole generation or two of gardeners to try something new. He famously ripped out his mother’s rose garden to create a tropical garden.
The Adventurous Gardener embodies this pioneering spirit of not being happy with the status quo. Not all of the information within it is relevant to every gardener, but you feel how he is encouraging you to have a go and experiment for yourself.
Christopher also exhorts us to relax about gardening, which resonates with the fretful world of 2023. We do not need to have any more things in our lives to bring us angst. So, I will leave you with some wise words from the Preface that I echo and pass on to you.
“Obviously I care intensely but perhaps I have developed a capacity for not worrying when worry will only take the pleasure out of gardening.” (page 8)
Note: I am not sponsored to promote books found in these newsletters. They are featured because I truly love them.
If you like this newsletter, please tell your gardening friends about it. It is easy to subscribe by contacting me via my website.
If you would like to see photos of my garden at Northview and images of my garden travels, please follow me on Instagram @NorthviewGarden and @JennyRoseCarey
Bye for now,
Leave a Reply