Something stirs

THERE are signs of life in the garden and it is good to go outside after being cooped up during the festive season.

Snowdrops, crocus and early daffodils are all beginning to come through, indeed our daffodil shoots have already formed a thick clump of tall shoots and should be in flower by late February. It seems like wishing time away but this eager anticipation of the seasons seems to be an integral part of gardening.

New plants are stirring but old ones are still managing to give a bit of colour to the garden and, in some cases, one or two flowers as well. Swiss chard continues to brighten small patches of soil with its brightly coloured stems of red, orange and yellow, while the holly tree, cotoneaster and the heavenly bamboo, Nandina domestica, are still holding on to their red berries.

Clematis viticella 'Etoile Violette' is still blooming, the first flowers opened in July. That late summer burden of flowers cannot be repeated at this time of year but the two purple specimens the plant has managed to hold on to are welcome all the same.

The National Trust rose, Rosa 'Octavia Hill', has been in our garden for several years and has always managed to produce at least one Christmas flower.

Launched in 1995 by Harkness to mark the centenary of the National Trust, the pink, many-petalled blooms look old fashioned but despite this it is a vigorous, disease-resistant modern plant that on a good year will flower on and off all summer.

In a large, blue container at the bottom of the garden we have planted a young Liquidamber or sweet gum. This attractive tree with star-shaped leaves can grow into a large conical tree with glorious autumn tints of red, purple and gold.

Ours will be smaller, the pot will restrict growth to a certain extent and careful pruning will keep it within bounds once it has reached to size we want but the autumn colour the tree was chosen for should still be a delight at the end of the year.

As the leaves began to turn last year, I planted some violas around its base to cover the bare soil.

Viola angel 'Tiger Eye' is dull yellow with dark veins and perfectly reflected the colours in the foliage above, they also had a surprisingly heavy perfume as new buds opened. Now the leaves have gone and the scent faded but we still have few 'Tiger Eyes' to remind us of the autumn.

Finally, by the front door one lobelia flower has made it through 2004 into 2005.

This little plant is the produce of the hanging basket above which last summer was stuffed with bedding plants, including several lobelia.

The seed must have dropped on to the soil below where, sheltered by the stems of the shrub growing there it managed to germinate and grow big enough to produce this one flower.

In the UK, lobelia is grown as a summer bedding plant but it is really a tender perennial which, in warm climates, will grow and flower all year round. Our increasingly mild winters may see such plants beginning to behave like this here too.

Weekend catch-up

WINTER is the best time to mend fences and trellis and put up new ones.

Plants are dormant and deciduous ones will have lost their leaves so there is a clear view of what needs to be done.

Check that trellis is fastened securely and able to support plants heavy with foliage and flowers and repair sections of fence, replacing them if necessary.

Paint with plant-friendly paint or varnish - most garden centres and DIY stores carry a selection of suitable products - and leave to dry thoroughly before tying climbers back on.

It is not so easy to mend fencing covered in a mass of mature wall shrubs and climbers but at least if it done now any damage to the plants will soon be hidden by new spring growth. Cut accidentally-broken stems back to a strong growing point to encourage fresh shoots in the growing season.

Updated: 16:31 Friday, January 07, 2005