The Garden in 2019 – a review of the year

As a new decade starts, I’ve been looking back over the garden in 2019

The more I garden, the more I think things work out best when I do very little. The triumphs of last year have often been a lucky accident, times when nature really did know best.

Top of these has got to be the soft fruit. I’ve had bumper crops of strawberries and raspberries, and the best haul of blackcurrants for a few years. Beyond pruning, weeding and trying to keep the wildlife off, these plants have been pretty much ignored but they’ve more than repaid the slight neglect.

In contrast, I fussed over the onions, garlic and shallots, carefully planting them out, fending off the weeds and watering during dry weather only to have the lot succumb to rust.

This season, I’ve moved the onions and shallots to beds far away from last year’s disaster zone and I’m giving garlic a miss.

Another crop that won’t feature this year is sweetcorn. It’s just too difficult to defeat the badger who sampled last year’s cobs – even before they were ripe. I shall use the space for something else.

Other triumphs in the garden in 2019 were the ‘accidental’ plant partnerships that were so much better than anything I planned. Some were a good combination in a border, others the lucky positioning of a pot.

Chillies were a bit of an experiment last year. I’ve grown the odd plant in previous years but decided to try several varieties. Those that survived the early attentions of snails in the greenhouse did very well and we now have enough chillies in the freezer to see us through to the next harvest. They will be on my sowing list for this month.

I tried germinating parsnip seed on damp kitchen roll as it’s something I find difficult to get going in the garden. It’s a great method in theory – providing you plant out the germinated seeds quickly! Time got the better of me and they were late going out. We’ve got a reasonable crop but not as many as I would have liked. It’s something I will plan better this year.

After my injury-hit 2018, last year was the first when I was able to use my new potting shed. It’s been an absolute joy, giving me extra space for overwintering the dahlias and more room for seed-sowing. Most of all, it’s the perfect refuge and I can spend hours there, looking out over the garden.

Some of that time has been spent planning and the garden in 2019 has seen some pretty radical changes. Most notable was the felling of a large conifer – actually two –the legacy of a previous owner and not something I would have planted. It’s created a lot of space, will hopefully help things around to grow better and given me the opportunity to plant something more interesting. A Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ is on order.

The main flower border has now been replanted following the clearance in 2018. I’m not convinced I’ve completely beaten the Saponaria officinalis (soapwort) but I couldn’t put up with bare earth any longer.

Sage that had overgrown its space in the vegetable garden has been removed and a difficult slope that was a nightmare to garden is about to be turned into a seating area. Whether I will spend much time sitting remains to be seen.

Looking back over photos of the year, it seems hard to remember we had snow in January. So far, we’ve had only two proper frosts this season and the growing season was mild – albeit very wet. That helped the sweet peas, which flowered for weeks longer than usual. The dahlias also seemed to like the conditions.

As I write, snowdrops that would not normally be showing for some weeks are about to flower, I’ve had primulas out for months and the marigolds are still in bloom! It will be interesting to see what 2020 brings.

Keep up with my 2020 gardening journey by following the blog.