Blog: A month of snow, rain, lockdown and misery
Not much to say that’s positive, is there? However, there were some chinks of light, as my January garden in photos shows.
Most of that came from my dodgy grow light in the conservatory. It looks like Studio 54 (look it up, kids), but it means new plant life. Confession time – I haven’t gone further than the back gates since December 23. We’ve been decorating, but I don’t want to step outside.
While most of us have been hibernating, having space under glass works wonders for your well-being. The conservatory has electricity, which means I can have heat mats and grow lights. If I didn’t have the grow light, I wouldn’t be sowing things so early. No leggy seedlings, please!
Seeds, seedlings and cuttings
So far, on the go are five varieties of Coleus from JustSeed, four types of chillies from Mr Fothergill’s and sweet pea Flamingo Flamenco Mix from Chiltern Seeds. They’ve been joined by poor-looking lavender and curry plant Korma cuttings. They may be dead, but I’m giving them a second chance. The overwintering chillies have been cut back to kick-start them into growth. Lastly, there’s a prickly pear (Opuntia) cactus cutting.
Ornamentals outdoors
There’s been a lot of snow. You’ll notice how my enthusiasm tailed off, and I stayed indoors.
Edibles outdoors in January
There’s not much to eat at the moment. The strawberries look a state. The autumn-planted garlic is growing well, but only the kale is still worth picking.
Finally, I hope you’ve enjoyed my January garden in photos. Let’s see what February has to fling at us!
